Decontamination in Hospitals and Healthcare

Dr Jimmy Walker worked as a Scientific Leader in water microbiology and decontamination at Public Health England (PHE), Porton UK. He has 30 years’ experience in public health microbiology with an extensive publication record, and regularly attended national and international scientific conferences. His particular interests were the presence of opportunistic pathogens in hospital water systems and advised hospitals on incidents and outbreaks associated with waterborne pathogens such as Legionella spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Mycobacteria spp. He worked closely with the Department of Health (DH England) and Health and Safety Executive in writing and developing national and international guidance on the microbiology of water and decontamination in healthcare.

1. The importance of decontamination in hospitals and healthcare

2. The history of decontamination in hospitals

3. Quality and supply of water used in hospitals

4. Control of Legionella in hosptial potable water systems

5. Waterborne transmission of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

6 Mycobacteria chimaera infections and their transmission from  heater-cooler units

7 Decontamination of hand washbasins and traps in hospitals

8 Infection control in Europe

9 The role of the nurse in decontamination 

10 The role of protective clothing in healthcare and its decontamination

11 Cleaning and decontamination of the healthcare environment

12 Biocides and decontamination agents including sporicides for decontamination in hospitals

13 The role of antimicrobial surfaces in hospitals to reduce  healthcare-associated infections (HAIs)

14 Use of gaseous decontamination technologies for wards  and isolation rooms in hospitals and healthcare settings

15 An overview of automated room disinfection systems:  When to use them and how to choose them

16 Testing strategies and international standards for disinfectants 

17 The role of standards in decontamination

18 Decontamination of prions

19 Decontamination of dental devices in the hospital and general  dental practice setting

20 An overview of current surgical instrument and other medical device decontamination practices 

21 Efficacy of current and novel cleaning technologies (ProReveal) for assessing protein contamination on surgical instruments

22 Decontamination of flexible endoscopes

23 Sterilization of flexible endoscopes 

24 Future trends in decontamination in hospitals and healthcare