The Infection Prevention and Control News Bulletin

Cleaning & Disinfection Decontamination Guide

Wards/Units

Always wear the correct PPE to protect yourself prior to

removing soiling from any equipment or the environment.
If patient equipment is soiled with any bodily fluids or a patient has a known faecal
infection (for example, Clostridium Difficile or Norovirus) it must have a double clean.
1. Clean with a detergent to remove soil and pathogens. All inpatient areas use
disposable detergent wipes.

2. This is then followed by a disinfectant clean. Disinfection will destroy most

pathogens and reduce them to a level that does not pose a risk to human health.
Acticlor tablets should be used in the correct dilution refer to manufacturers

advice (Dissolve 4, 0.5g tablets in 1L of water for general clinical environment

cleaning)

3. After the cleaning/disinfection process all equipment should be thoroughly dried.

If patient equipment is not soiled with any bodily fluids and the patient does not
have a known faecal infection, best practice is to clean it with a detergent wipe.

1. Clean with a detergent wipe to remove soil and pathogens.

Blood Spills
Actichlor granules should be sprinkled onto the blood spill to solidify the spillage,
before starting the decontamination process. If the spillage is large soak up the
excess fluid using disposable cloths/disposable hand towels. Place the cloths into an
orange bag and manage as hazardous waste. The area should then have a double
clean (see above).

Urine/Vomit Spills
Soak up spillages with paper towels initially and place in hazardous waste bin. Clean urine spills with a
double clean. N.B. Do not apply bleach directly to large urine or vomit spills (COSHH Policy v2:2)

Community Staff
All community staff who take equipment into patients homes must take decontamination equipment
(detergent and disinfectant wipes) out into the community with them to ensure that they clean all shared
equipment in-between patient use. The cleaning process is the same as above.
When cleaning equipment check for signs of damage. If you should see any damage you should report
it to your manager who can instigate replacement/repair.

Offices
All office equipment should be cleaned with either an office cleaning kit that can be obtained on EPROC
(WYX479) or detergent wipes (VJT077).
Remember to always look at the manufacturers instructions first.
References

Decontamination Guidelines and Procedures v1

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Policy v2:2