Community equipment and housing adaptations: draft guidance - executive summary

Recycling & Infection Control and Decontamination

Under the terms of the Health and Safety at work Act it is expected that store services, on behalf of the partners, will have in place arrangements which ensure the robust cleaning, and refurbishment of all equipment. Advice can be provided by local NHS infection control leads. It is recommended that there should be a separation of arrangements within the store to comply with decontamination good practice, for 'dirty' and 'clean' equipment.

Investing in cleaning facilities and systems within the store can deliver business efficiencies, and significant savings can be made through the effective retrieval, cleaning and servicing of equipment.

Key Actions

• Store services will have in place arrangements which ensure the robust cleaning, and refurbishment of all equipment returned to the Stores service.
• Partnerships and their equipment and adaptation service providers should ensure they maximise the potential benefits from recycling of all equipment and relevant adaptations, and record and monitor the recycling benefits they deliver, as this information can be used to evidence savings and efficiencies as part of wider budgetary discussions.