While medical workstations are becoming increasingly important in healthcare delivery, they are at risk of becoming a vehicle for the transmission of infection between patients and staff.
For bacteria to spread, all it takes is on a clinician who is in a hurry who touches a patient and then touches the computer without proper hand hygiene, who then passes the bacteria to the next clinician because they failed to clean the workstation in between use.
Medical workstation cleaning guidelines have been developed to help reduce the risk of transmission of HAIs.’
Maintain good hand hygiene. Perform hand hygiene before and after touching the medical workstation, or direct or indirect contact with a patient or the patient’s environment.
Assign the user to be responsible for routine cleaning and disinfection. Cleaning and disinfection must be done every time the device has the potential to become contaminated.
Keep clutter to a minimum. Clear off any unnecessary supplies and other materials that you aren’t using on a regular basis. Keeping a medical workstation clear will give bacteria less of a chance to stick around
Place disinfection solutions in multiple areas where medical workstations are used, stored or moved to. Solutions placed on the equipment with a wipe holder, bracket or bin can serve as a constant reminder and promote ease of use.
Train clinicians on best practices and regular education reminding staff of processes and the importance of cleaning and disinfecting. Implement a mechanism or program to regularly monitor that the processes are being followed.
Frequently wipe off individual pieces of equipment like keyboard covers, computer cases, cords and mice with proper disinfecting wipes.
