John Prendergast highlights the fact that there are differing priorities between ‘hands on’ clinical staff and dedicated professionals with responsibility for undertaking, managing or supplying endoscope decontamination services.
While training a group of endoscopy nurses, a question was asked to give their opinion as to what is the the most important part of the patient experience while attending a typical endoscopy unit within the UK. To my surprise, the answer I expected to be the highest priority was in fact the fifth to be highlighted:
Safety/cleanliness of devices used was well down the list. After working in healthcare establishments for many years, should I have been surprised? To professionals dedicated to the field of decontamination, like ourselves, such answers are horrifying; however, we need to understand the pressures clinical staff are under and, in many cases, the training received concentrates on other priorities which are highly important in their own right. Such differences in priorities can be understandable.
However, the fact that we have such opposing priorities can lead each one of us to misperceive situations, despite the best of intentions – it is one of the main reasons that our decisions and actions can often be flawed and risks of healthcare-acquired infections elevated as a result of process errors
Log in or register FREE to read the rest
This story is Premium Content and is only available to registered users. Please log in at the top of the page to view the full text.
If you don't already have an account, please register with us completely free of charge.
