The Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee (PIDAC) has produced provincial documents that detail best practice requirements for cleaning, disinfection and sterilization. These documents apply to all regulated health professionals (RHP) in Ontario. To provide the highest level of client safety, and to prevent transmission of infections, current best practices and standards established by Health Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), PIDAC, and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) for cleaning, disinfection and sterilization must be followed.
It is also important to follow manufacturer instructions for the maintenance, use, and reuse of medical equipment/devices. Keep the manufacturer’s instructions on-site and review these instructions for all equipment. If the manufacturer’s instructions for use do not meet the current PIDAC best practices and/or the standards established by Health Canada, PHAC, PIDAC, and the CSA, the highest level of standard must be followed.
Reusable medical equipment/devices must be cleaned with friction and then either disinfected or sterilized after each use unless labelled as a single-use item. The Spaulding Classification is the instrument classification system used for reprocessing decisions. Items that are reprocessed are classified into three categories critical, semi critical and non critical:
Spaulding’s Classification of Medical Equipment/Devices and Required Level of Processing /Reprocessing
All regulated health care professionals and their staff must be aware of current IPAC best practice guidelines and follow them when providing services to the public. Current PIDAC Best Practice documents are available on Public Health Ontario’s website and include:
The CSA Standards may be purchased through the CSA Group Online Store.
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