scope:

This Standard provides recommended practices for emergency sterilization in health care facilities. The term "emergency sterilization", as used herein, is synonymous with "flash sterilization" and sterilization by the "unwrapped method".

These recommended practices are intended to increase assurance of sterility and to assist health care personnel in the proper use of processing equipment.

Notes:

(1) The term "health care facilities" includes, but is not limited to, hospitals, nursing homes, ext ended-care facilities, clinics, medical ond dental offices, and health units in industry.

(2) Comprehensive guidance for small, office-based facilities con be found in CSA Special Publication PLUS 1112.

(3) Emergency sterilization may' be performed in various areas of the health care facility, including the operoting room, labour/delivery room, emergency/trauma room, and other areos where steam sterilizers are located.

This Standard specifically addresses

(a) functional and physical design criteria for areas of health care facilities where emergency sterilization is carried out;

(b) staff qualifications, education, and other personnel considerations;

(c) sterilization processing procedures;

(d) the use and maintenance of gravity-displacement and dynamic air removal-type sterilizers for emergency sterilization; and

(e) quality assurance.

The following areas are not addressed in this Standard:

(a) specific construction and performance criteria for steam sterilizers; and

(b) guidelines for steam sterilization by the wrapped method.

Note: See Appendix A tor information on sterilizers for emergency sterilization.

In this Standard, "shall" indicates a mandatory requirement; "should" indicates a recommendation or that which is advised but not mandatory; and "may" indicates an advisory or optional statement. Notes accompanying clauses do not include mandatory or alternative requirements; the purpose of a note accompanying a clause is to separate from the text explanatory or informative material that is not properly a part of the Standard. Notes to figures and tables are considered part of the figure or table and may be written as mandatory requirements; legends to figures are also considered part of the requirements of the figure.