They’re a 24/7 team of specialty nurses who are integral to the hospital providing safe health care to the community; however, most people have no idea they exist.
Townsville University Hospital’s central sterilising department (CSD) team comprises 40 nurses who undergo special training to make sure that each and every piece of equipment that is sent to theatres, dental clinics, birth suite or any other hospital space is completely sterile.
2020 has proven to be one of their busiest on record, with almost one-and-a-half million individual pieces of equipment being cleaned and sterilised this year, surpassing last year’s total of 1.4 million.
CSD nurse unit manager Marg Bathurst said CSD was an essential cog in daily hospital operations.
“CSD plays such a vital role in the hospital environment; every piece of equipment that comes into contact with the body must be free from all microbial elements,” she said.
“However, it’s the kind of thing that people don’t really think about before they go in for surgery or a procedure.
“We also need to be here 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so that if a clinician urgently needs a piece of equipment we can make sure it’s ready to go.
“It’s a fascinating place to work and we all really enjoy playing our part.”
#CSD #CentralSterilisingDepartment #ThisIsTHHS
30 сен 2024
