title: Decontamination upgrading progresses.
abstract: Standards of decontamination of surgical instruments in the NHS in England have come under close scrutiny, and some significant improvements have been achieved. Action plans, developed to ensure the rate of improvement is maintained, are described in this article which is derived from the Department of Health/NHS Estate document 'A review of the decontamination of surgical instruments in the NHS in England'. The Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management is one of the organisations involved in the programme of work on decontamination.
mesh_terms: D002495:Central Supply, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D007562:Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome / Q000517:prevention & control; D003666:Decontamination / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D004866:Equipment Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D007318:Inservice Training; D015397:Program Evaluation; D013222:State Medicine; D013525:Surgical Instruments / Q000592:standards*; D006113:United Kingdom