Collaborative Development of a Quality Assurance Programme for the Decontamination of Hire Beds

“A formal microbiological quality assurance programme was established to evaluate the effectiveness of decontamination processes applied to Protean Floor-Level hire beds supplied by Bartrams Healthcare. The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Infection Prevention and Control and Microbiology teams collaborated with the manufacturer to develop a standardised sampling and reporting framework using POLYWIPE™ environmental sponges. Testing targeted key healthcare-associated pathogens, including Clostridioides difficile, MRSA, MSSA and VRE, with cultures performed on selective chromogenic media following broth enrichment. Initial assessments of beds from decontamination sites demonstrated complete removal of the targeted organisms, with 110 sampled surfaces meeting predefined cleanliness standards at the time of reporting. A structured laboratory protocol enabled consistent recovery and detection of organisms, while a service-level agreement ensured rapid turnaround, reporting, and escalation of any failures. This collaborative model established a reproducible mechanism for independent verification of decontamination efficacy and supported the implementation of a certification process for hire beds supplied across UK healthcare settings.”