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Dept of Health

Answer

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment has been made of the need for the individual coding of surgical instruments under contract requirements for the new regional super centres being established for the decontamination of surgical instruments; [220579] (2) how many NHS hospital trusts have a bar code system in place for the management of surgical instruments; [220580] (3) what assessment has been made of the likely effect on patient safety of adopting bar coding for individual surgical instruments; [220581] (4) what assessment has been made of the merits of adopting a system of individual surgical instrument traceability in NHS trusts; [220582] (5) what assessment has been made of the implementation of the guidance in Health Service Circular 2000/32 regarding systems for the tracing of surgical instrument sets to patients on whom they have been used; [220588] (6) if he will require the use of bar coding for surgical instruments in those areas where sterile service super centres are to be introduced; [220634] (7) how many NHS trusts have the capacity to identify individual surgical instruments used after a high risk patient has been identified. [220635] Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department's guidance on the tracking of surgical instruments is contained in Health Service Circular (HSC) 2000/032 (Decontamination of Surgical Instruments). This asked chief executives of national health service trusts to have taken steps, by April 2002, towards having systems in place to enable the tracing of surgical instrument sets to patients on whom they have been used. The presence (or absence) of such a system was taken into account in assessing each NHS trust's compliance with the Department's guidance made as part of the "Review of the decontamination of surgical instruments in the NHS in England", published in December 2001. NHS trusts are not required to report to the Department which tracing system they use. Compliance with the provisions of the Medical Devices Directive (93/42 EEC)--compulsory for commercial reprocessing centres providing a service to the NHS-- implies the ability to track surgical instruments through the system. It does not--and nor does Departmental guidance--require any particular form of marking, such as bar codes, to be used. The detailed contents of contracts between NHS organisations and private sector providers of decontamination services are a matter for the parties concerned. The Department's guidance on handling instruments used on suspected CJD patients or in certain brain biopsies recommends that such instruments should be quarantined pending confirmation of a diagnosis. All hospitals that have implemented the guidance in HSC 2000/032 will have the capacity to do this. Other than the review published in 2001, no complete survey of their compliance has been undertaken. The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (NHS PASA) has commissioned a survey that includes tracking and tracing systems in use in NHS trusts. NHS PASA is also discussing with the NHS the technologies presently available for marking instruments, such as laser etching; and those being developed, such as the implantation of radio frequency identification chips in individual instruments.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

432 c625-6W; 220579;220580;220581;220582;220588;220634;220635

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Contracts Codes of practice Contamination Hospitals EU law Private sector Patients NHS trusts Medical equipment Safety Surgery Technology CJD Brain

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk