The functioning of a hospital depends on the organized relationship between its various sectors (emergency, operating room, wards, linen rooms, CSSD). A process in one sector influences how another sector will function. The ward depends on the admission sector for the admission of patients, just as the surgical center depends on the cleaning team to use an operating room.
Some sectors are essential to all the others within a hospital, such as the Central Sterile Services Department (CSSD). The procedures that take place in different clinics depend on the types of CSSD and its 24-hour operation.
Follow today's post to learn more about this sector and the particularities of each type of CSSD!
Central Sterile Services Department (CSSD)
The CSSD is the unit inside the hospital responsible for processing and cleaning health products that will be used in all sectors of the hospital. It is the place for cleaning, preparation, packaging, sterilization, storage, and distribution of medical and hospital items.
The basic processes that take place in a CSSD are
inspection of the soiled material received;
cleaning;
preparation of the material;
packaging with appropriate materials;
sterilization (by different methods); and
storage until the moment the material is transported to the sectors.
Types of CSSD
The CSSD is classified into three types according to how it works.
1. Decentralized
In this type, each hospital unit has its own CSSD responsible for cleaning and sterilizing the materials it uses.
2. Semi-centralized
In the case of semi-centralized CSSD, each hospital unit makes the initial preparation of the dirty material that was used, and sends it for sterilization in a single place in the hospital.
3. Centralized
Here, all the materials in the hospital are prepared, sterilized and distributed in a single CSSD that serves all sectors. This is the most used type of CSSD nowadays because centralization allows the standardization of the sterilization techniques used, greater efficiency and safety of the processes, better control of the materials and savings for the hospital.
Organization of the CSSD
The structure of the CSSD must be organized so that the processing of products follows a continuous flow, directed from the dirty area to the clean area.
Every CSSD must have, at least, the following sectors:
Purge
This sector includes receiving, checking, washing and drying items received from the hospital's sectors. Cleaning should remove all dirt from the materials. Automated cleaning equipment, such as ultrasonic cleaners, can be used.
Preparation and sterilization
The preparation of the material before sterilization involves removing humidity and wrapping the items (trays, packaging, boxes).
The main way of sterilization done in hospitals is by moist heat, using autoclave equipment.
Monitoring the sterilization process
Every material that goes through a sterilization process goes through a monitoring process, to guarantee its sterility. Specific indicators are used to verify the quality.
Storage and distribution
The sterilized products are stored in clean, dry places until they are distributed to the hospital, always paying attention to the sterilization expiration date.
It is necessary to perform regular monitoring and maintenance of all the equipment used for automated cleaning and sterilization, to guarantee the quality of the items processed by the CSSD. This qualification is done by the clinical engineering sector of each hospital.
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