A little off topic but important just the same.
I have a quality control person that is making us remove every item from shipping boxes. I mean, all picc trays down to the prefilled syringes of NS. we have to put them in plastic totes. She said this is JCAHO requirement.
Is this really the case? Is there any EBP to support this practice? I not just talking the brown cardboard boxes either. I am talking about the white boxes that come from the brown cardboard even when there are multiple white repacs. I guess they consider the cardboard/whiteboard unclean? I now have all my PICC trays open to the dust, etc that collects on them. Isn't dust mostly human skin cells? etc?
I might add our smaller repac boxes are shipped from our main hospital to us via plastic totes.
thoughts?
David
removing sterile supplies from the cartons is done in the operating room stores, for 2 reasons. One that if the corrugated cardboard is allowed then bugs [legged sort] like earwigs etc have somewhere to hide and can eat the sterile wraps. and because the chain of delivery isnt known then are they harbouring surface bacteria.
BUT the room must be one that is air conditioned and clean, and surfaces cleaned at frequent intervals to keep dust down etc.
I always thought it funny that operating theatres had one standard and a few metres away the wards kept the boxes and didnt follow such rules.
As far as I know the flat white cardboard that had been protected by the outer carton during travel, is allowed. as a 3rd skin and protecting a soft wrap of the sterile article.
I Dont have any evidence but that is what happend where I used to work.
Is your storage area then in a filtered air conditioning room,??? are the shelves in a closed cupboard??, do you have a regular person who can clean the surface areas properly to keep dust levels down???? IF any 'Nos' to that then I think you should be able to maintain the white carton. or demand plastic bins with lids
removing sterile supplies from the cartons is done in the operating room stores, for 2 reasons. One that if the corrugated cardboard is allowed then bugs [legged sort] like earwigs etc have somewhere to hide and can eat the sterile wraps. and because the chain of delivery isnt known then are they harbouring surface bacteria.
BUT the room must be one that is air conditioned and clean, and surfaces cleaned at frequent intervals to keep dust down etc.
I always thought it funny that operating theatres had one standard and a few metres away the wards kept the boxes and didnt follow such rules.
As far as I know the flat white cardboard that had been protected by the outer carton during travel, is allowed. as a 3rd skin and protecting a soft wrap of the sterile article.
I Dont have any evidence but that is what happend where I used to work.
Is your storage area then in a filtered air conditioning room,??? are the shelves in a closed cupboard??, do you have a regular person who can clean the surface areas properly to keep dust levels down???? IF any 'Nos' to that then I think you should be able to maintain the white carton. or demand plastic bins with lids