How to sterilize your medical equipment

All medical offices that perform procedures need to sterilise every single surgical instrument, and it needs to be done properly!  Surgical instruments are sterilised to avoid infecting patients by transferring germs and bacteria from one person to another.

Most sterilisations are usually done with an autoclave machine, which sterilizes using heat and pressure to destroy all microbes and bacteria. Supply Doctor has a wide range of autoclave machines and other medical supplies. Take a look at their online store.

What you will need:

- Detergent
- Autoclave
- Sterilisation sheets
- Gauze
- Sterilisation tape
- Sterilisation indicator strips

Instructions:

 - Use an approved medical detergent to pre-clean and soak all your used medical instruments beforehand to get rid of any bodily fluids etc. Scrub the instruments to remove any debris. Open any closed medical instruments and scrub the hinges and locks properly. After, inspect each instrument to make sure they are clean.

- Remove the instruments from the detergent and allow them to air dry on a towel. Ensure that all instruments are properly dry before handling them. Arrange the instruments on the appropriate surgical sets or kits and wrap them in either sterilisation sheets or bags for processing.

- Lay two sterilisation sheets on a flat surface. Place the gauze, instruments and a sterilisation indicator in the middle of the top sheet. Wrap all the instruments appropriately, secure the outside edges with sterilisation indicator tape to keep the edges closed.

- Open the sterilisation bag (if you are using one), place the instruments, gauze and sterilisation indicator strip inside the bag. Then make sure that you seal it properly with sterilisation tape.

- Place the wrapped instruments inside the autoclave machine. Process your instruments according to the sterilisation guidelines and recommendations for the specific autoclave machine. Inspect each package for wet spots or surfaces, once autoclaving is complete. Reprocess wet packs by first letting them dry and then process in the autoclave machine.

Surgical instruments always need to be cleaned and sterilised properly. If the appropriate sterilisation is not done, dangerous bacteria and germs can be spread!