The Ultrasound IP Toolkit is a free resource developed with consensus by a collective of clinical decontamination experts in the UK and Ireland, who all share a passion for best practice and o pen learning.
The decontamination of ultrasound probes is essential to help reduce the risk of contracting a healthcare-associated infection. Ultrasound probes are used across most departments within a hospital, so it is essential to locate all probes and implement a standard operating procedure (SOP) across the organisation.
The objective of developing this toolkit has been to provide a relevant resource regarding infection prevention during the reprocessing and use of ultrasound probes in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
This toolkit has been assembled with consensus by clinical experts with backgrounds in infection prevention and instrument reprocessing. The four editable tools will support you to locate the ultrasound probes within your organisation, assess procedure-specific ultrasound policy and practice, develop ultrasound reprocessing and use risk assessments, and develop policies that can be implemented at a department or facility-wide level.
Claire Jones-Manning, Decontamination Lead at the University Hospitals Leister.
The following clinical experts contributed to the development of the Ultrasound IP Toolkit:
- Linda Cooper Decontamination Project Lead (Northern Ireland)
- Niamh O’Callaghan Hospital Sterile Services Clinical Nurse Manager & Decontamination Lead (Ireland)
- John Prendergast Authorised Engineer (Decontamination) (Wales)
- Helen Campbell Decontamination Consultant (England)
- Anthony Sullivan External Decontamination Services Manager (England)
- Elizabeth Collins Clinical Lead Infection Prevention (England)
- Claire Jones-Manning Deputy Head of Operations & Decontamination Lead (England)
The IP toolkit components:
Tool 1 – Locate & Profile
Tool 2 – Algorithm
Tool 3 – Risk Assessment
Tool 4 - Policy Development Framework
Find out more and download the toolkit here
