Body cleaning and disposal

Policies and Procedures on Infection Control Ministry of Health Malaysia 126

3. Treatment room

i. Common treatment room

Common treatment room should be used with caution as this will risk contaminating the surrounding environment and dressing materials stored within the vicinity. Change of dressing is best done by the patient’s bedside. ii. Hydrotherapy room Hydrotherapy and its related equipments should be disinfected with high-level disinfection in between patients. It is difficult to disinfect the pipelines, drains or tanks as these aquatic environments will be continuously inoculated by organisms from patients and the caregivers.

4. Plants and flowers

Plants and flowers should not be allowed in the Burn unit as they harbor gram negative organisms such Pseudomonas species and fungi. These organisms may colonize the burn wound and many are intrinsically resistant to multiple antibiotics. 5. Toys Pediatric patient with burns should be restricted to non porous and washable toys only. This should be designated to individual patient use only, and thoroughly disinfect after use or before giving to another patient.

6.8.4 Patient Care Items and Equipments

All equipments and surfaces such as beds, side rails, tables, wheelchairs and trolleys should be adequately decontaminated Refer MOH guidelines for disinfection.

1. Non invasive items

• Non critical items such as blood pressure cuffs, oxygen mask, nasal prongs, tubing, stethoscopes, bedpans, wheelchair, infusion pumps if used on areas without dry, occlusive dressings, may need high-level disinfection. • These items should be restricted to an individual patient treated in the isolation room.

2. Invasive items

• This refers to the care of endotracheal tracheostomy tube,intravascular catheter and continuous bladder catheterization. Intravascular catheter should be placed through unburned skin, preferably at a sufficient distance from the wound to prevent contamination at the insertion site. If insertion of catheters is placed within or near the burn wound, appropriate dressing is required to cover the site of insertion. Prevention of UTI includes removal of the catheter as soon as it is no longer required for monitoring of urine output, maintaining a closed urinary drainage system, and performance of urinary catheter care.