Hospitals and cleanliness are synonymous because of the serious nature of the environment. As a result, standards must be maintained around the facility.
While other areas need the best attention, operating rooms stand out. Operating rooms must remain sterile, unspoiled, and neat for patients and staff. But many people and even facilities don't know how to clean an operating room.
Maintaining the room's hygiene limits adverse infections and accidents. This gives the medical facility an elevated level of quality and healthcare services.
This post is a crash course on how to clean an operating room, making it fit for purpose. Keep reading!
Why do Operating Rooms need Cleaning?
Operating rooms are places where multiple surgeries take place every day. The floors, different surfaces, surgical equipment, and other areas must remain infection-free. Generally, clean and sanitary conditions are a prerequisite for safe, quality healthcare services.
Hospitals and medical facilities must prepare the operating rooms for patients and staff. This includes surface and deep-cleaning services, cutting across all areas. For example, surgical equipment, operating tables, and recovery rooms are cleaned.
How to Clean an Operating Room
There are some cleaning solutions to apply daily, weekly, and monthly.
Daily Cleaning
The operating room hosts many surgeries every day. For a meticulous environment before every procedure, they must be cleaned and sanitized. Here are some parts of the operating room that require daily cleaning.
Floors: Wipe floors and corners of the room. This includes sweeping, emptying the trash, mopping, and decontaminating the floors.
Anesthesia Room: This room and the equipment in it must be cleaned daily. It comprises tables, anesthesia machines, IV pumps, etc. The room's floor should be cleaned, wiped, and disinfected to receive a surgery patient.
Equipment and Devices: There are tons of tools and devices to support surgical procedures. This includes electronics like computers, monitors, and advanced machinery. These areas need daily cleaning with industry-approved disinfectants.
Scrub/Surgical Sinks: These sinks are critical functional areas in an operating room. Doctors and nursing staff use them whenever they need to clean their hands before a surgery or invasive procedure. Ensure that the cleaners tidy such sinks and disinfect them daily.
High-touch Surfaces: Sterilize high-touch surfaces, such as door handles, push plates, surgery tables, and side rails of beds. Medical staff and patients mostly touch these spots during surgeries. Sterilize them to maintain a hygienic and pathogen-free environment.
Lights and Displays: They may go unnoticed, but small surgical lights are very important in the operating room. Any dirt or buildup can reduce the light's brightness or create shadows, which may affect the surgeon’s visibility. That’s why keeping these lights clean and free from dust or smudges is so important. Cleaning staff must handle them carefully, using approved wipes or solutions to avoid damaging sensitive parts.
Biomedical Waste Bins and Litter Cans: Take biomedical waste out daily. Often, these bins have different codes to handle diverse types of waste. For example, biohazardous substances, cotton swabs, sharp objects, and surgical items are segregated and disposed of.
Ultimately, your cleaning staff or experts must understand the codes and dispose of waste accordingly.
Weekly Cleaning
Most times, these areas are not a direct threat to the operating room. That's why weekly cleaning solutions keep them clean and presentable.
Wall Cleaning: With operating rooms, even the walls can carry dust and germs. The walls and room corners need weekly wipe downs to disinfect them.
Supply Carts: Nurses use these carts to collect essentials needed for surgical procedures. These include medicines, gloves, and sterilization substances. Let the cleaners unload the carts and wipe them intensively to remove any trace of germs.
Wheels and Casters: Patients are moved from the operating tables to recovery beds. Wheels and casters in the operating rooms may gather dirt and grime. Cleaning them weekly reduces the chances of infection spreading.
Beds and Furniture: From patients' beds and other furniture to chairs and staff lockers. Dust and clean all furniture weekly to maintain a clean environment.
Windows and Doors: There are windows and some entry/exit points in the operating rooms. Clean doors and windows weekly with an approved commercial-grade glass cleaner. This will make the surfaces stain-free and germ-free. In some cases, a vacuum is handy to clean them.
Monthly Cleaning
Some tasks require deep concentration due to their complex and challenging nature. Here are some cleaning tasks you can perform monthly.
Air Vents and Ducts: Clean air is an excellent addition to any medical facility. Patients and staff will be safe and free from airborne germs. Make sure of that by thoroughly cleaning air vents and ducts in operating rooms.
Hire experts to do a great job and leave your air conditioning working perfectly.
Ceilings, Lights, and Fixtures: Ceilings and other fixtures may be difficult to reach. But cleaners must reach and clean them monthly. Information boards, signage, light fixtures, and walls in the operating rooms should be cleaned.
Deep Clean Furniture: It's okay to dust and wipe furniture. But every month, instruct the cleaners to deep clean them with a vacuum cleaner. They can even move the furniture out and use special equipment to clean hard-to-reach corners.
Waste Receptacles and Buckets: These tools collect day-to-day waste from the operating rooms and contain replaceable trash liners. But each month, ask your cleaners to deep clean the walls of the containers. This will remove tough stains and grime, making it easy to transport the bins for disposal.
Curtains: Curtains and similar decor in the operating rooms can be washed monthly. Ask cleaners to use a recommended antiseptic cleaning solution. Let the curtains dry before reuse.
Conclusion
You need the best service to clean operating rooms. Ensure you hire one that follows the steps above daily, weekly, and monthly. Use quality equipment and recommended solutions for the best results.
A professional service understands what your operating rooms need. They'll go above and beyond to provide a hygienic environment fit for staff and patients.