Stories From The Field (Moab Healthcare)
Sterile Processing Department (SPD) Challenges: Unprocessed Trays at 0700
The Dirty Truth
If you have managed SPD, you know the drill: Monday morning, dirty trays are at a minimum and things are generally “caught up”. Each day thereafter, the quantity of dirty, unprocessed trays increases exponentially, and you fall further behind. As the pile grows, so do physician complaints, case delays, errors, and “call ins” The weekend finally arrives and you pay a bunch of overtime to play catch up but come Monday, rinse and repeat!
It is undeniable that there is a direct correlation between unprocessed trays and many of the problems in SPD. Are you counting and tracking unprocessed surgical trays each morning? If not, we highly recommend you start asap!
Here are 3 reasons why
- Labor Management:
Unprocessed trays are the number one indicator that you likely have a problem. Most hospitals Do Not have an adequate number of experienced SPD technicians. Let me repeat: Staffing levels in Sterile Processing rarely align with demand! - Cost Savings:
There are several “buckets” to consider. How much are you spending on
Overtime? What is the cost of staff turnover? Are you purchasing more instruments to solve the problem vs increasing staffing levels? Are high revenue producing surgeons moving their cases? - Quality/ Patient Safety/ Regulatory:
What happens when people fall behind and pressure to increase productivity is high? Corners are cut, vital processes in the instrumentation continuum are skipped, and industry standards are compromised. This quality deficit places your patients and your organization at risk.
Moab Healthcare provides “Traveler” Sterile Processing Technicians to support your productivity needs.
ALL our technicians are CBSPD and/or IAHCSSM certified and have a minimum of 2 years of relevant sterile processing experience and can be deployed as rapidly as needed.