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In the last part of his squat practice series, Decon Pete shares the final things you need to consider when setting one up. I wanted to take a look at some of the other things that we need to consider in this final part of setting up a squat practice We’ve set up our LDU.…
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Decon Pete shares the most important squat practice equipment to purchase, such as washer disinfectors and autoclaves. This month I wanted to take a look at the exact equipment that you will require for your squat practice to be compliant. Last month we started to look at things to consider when setting up a squat…
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Decon Pete discusses things to consider when you’re setting up a new squat practice and where to place your local decontamination unit. I’m asked many times about what is required when setting up a new squat practice. Or what to consider when carrying out any major refurbishment work in an existing practice. Whichever it is…
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Decon Pete gives a further update on the National Standards of Cleanliness document and exactly what practices will need to do. Last month we discussed the new National Standards of Cleanliness document. This will come into effect in April 2022. This month I would like to discuss what it requires practices to do and some…
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Decon Pete speaks to us about the NHS National Standards of Cleanliness 2021 and explains what it means in practise for dentistry. In April 2021 NHS England published the National Standards of Cleanliness 2021. This supersedes the National Specifications for Cleanliness 2007. The publication applies to all healthcare settings, including primary care dental. It is…
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Decon Pete suggests ways to easily improve decontamination efficiency and save time and work for you dental team. With the CDO for England announcing that NHS dentists are obliged to meet 85% of their pre-Covid targets from 1 January 2022, what can we do to help improve our IP efficiency and save some time along…
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Decon Pete covers the updated SOP guidance and explains what the changes actually mean for dental practices. The UK Health Security Agency have issued new standard operating procedures (SOPs), on 24 November, for infection prevention and control for seasonal respiratory infections in health care settings. The new guidance supersedes the previous UK IPC COVID-19 for…
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Decon Pete covers the role dental nurses play in disinfection and decontamination and explains why constant updates and training is so important. With the responsibility for the implementation of infection control policies falling largely on the shoulders of dental nurses, it is vital that they are fully aware of the appropriate local guidelines, understand how…
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Decon Pete reveals all on RO water and the key considerations involved when choosing a unit. In the past couple of months I have discussed the importance of water quality, within our practice, and the associated pathogens. In this final part I wanted to discuss RO water and the things we should consider before purchasing…
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With a rise in legionella deaths as services restart, Pete Gibbons explains how dental practices can safely reopen. In last month’s article I discussed the importance of water quality and the potential risks of legionella. There have been several incidences, lately, that have featured in various media forms detailing outbreaks of this potentially life-threatening decease. A…
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This month Decon Pete discusses legionella formation and things to consider when reopening dental surgeries. Water quality, within dentistry, is an extremely important element that needs maintaining to reduce any potential pathogen risk. In particular legionella pneumophila. Dental practices have, for some time now, not been operating at full capacity. With many utilising additional surgeries…
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Decon Pete explains how to ensure you are meeting UK guidance requirements with your ultrasonic cleaners and what records to keep for the CQC. Firstly, let’s clarify the difference between testing and validation. Validation is a way of confirming that decontamination equipment is working in the way the manufacturer intends. Validation also demonstrates that the…
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With confusing and subjective guidance on decontamination in dentistry, Decon Pete tries to clarify how practices can interpret the documents. The UK guidance documents relating to decontamination within primary care dentistry have been with us since 2004, with the SDCEP document, then HTM01-05 in 2009 and WHTM01-05 in 2010. These documents are all underwritten by…
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Decon Pete discusses the importance of in-practice training and encouraging good infection control. As a core CPD subject, decontamination and infection control is an area that is always at the forefront of the minds of decontamination leads. Every practice has a duty of care to ensure those responsible remain up to date with regulations and…
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This month Decon Pete takes a look at the testing and validation protocols for washer disinfectors and autoclaves. The testing protocols for washer disinfectors fall into three main categories; weekly, quarterly and annual tests. A weekly protein residue test should be carried out on one of the instruments that has been through the WD cycle.…
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Pete Gibbons – also known as Decon Pete – talks about growing his own food and what it’s like being a trained chef. Please introduce yourself? My name is Pete Gibbons, and I am the owner of PG Independent Dental Consultancy AKA Decon Pete. I have been working in the dental industry for more than…
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Within dentistry, water quality is an extremely important element that needs maintaining to reduce any potential pathogen risk, Pete explains Water is used within instrument cleaning, washer disinfector fill, ultrasonic fill, manual cleaning sink fill, rinsing, dental waterlines (DUWL), autoclaves and drinking. We can sometimes overlook the necessity to maintain. There are many different types…
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Manual cleaning versus automatic cleaning – Pete explains why now is the time to make the leap to using washer disinfectors. As a key part of dental infection control policy, the cleaning and sterilisation of dental instruments remains the cornerstone of practice compliance. In the UK, local regulations provide guidance as to which cleaning methods…
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This month Pete looks at how making small changes to the dental instruments we use can help reduce the amount of aerosols produced and therefore the fallow time. In last month’s article we discussed air changes per hour (ACH) and how this can influence the overall fallow time between patients. The aim for all dental…
