Health Service Executive (HSE) Standards and Recommended Practices for Central Decontamination Units

The Standards and Recommended Practices are a guide to the standards of practice required in the decontamination of reusable invasive medical devices (RIMD) in Central Decontamination Units, based on current legal requirements and professional best practice.

The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has developed the National Standards for Safer, Better Care to describe what a high quality, safe service looks like. Improving the quality of care and providing a safe working environment are thus fundamental activities for the Health Service Executive. Prevention and control of healthcare associated infection (HCAI) is central to these activities. Senior managers must ensure that they have effective systems in place in their healthcare facilities to minimize the risks of infection to patients and staff.

With regard to instrument traceability, systems should be in place to record the decontamination process used on RIMD and to link them with the service users (patients) on which they have been used.

The tracking system should record the progress of sets of RIMD, or individual supplementary RIMD, through each stage of the decontamination process and allow retrospective demonstration that a particular set and the set contents or supplementary RIMD has been correctly decontaminated. The tracing system should permit retrospective tracing of the RIMD history including the service user on which the RIMD was used.

Records should be maintained of:
a. the cleaning, disinfection and sterilisation process cycle used.
b. the name of the person undertaking each stage of the decontamination process.
c. the date, time and test result.
d. details of the RIMD being processed.

As a minimum, sets of RIMD should be individually identified with a Global Standard 1 (GS1) code.
Learn more about GS1 Identifiers >>


Need to learn more about implementing GS1 ID numbers to identify and track surgical instruments? GS1 Ireland will be holding information workshops for companies involved in the supply and decontamination of surgical instrument trays and medical devices. Dates and locations to be announced shortly. For further information and to register your interest click here.