Section II. PLACEMENT AND SEQUENCE
2-3.
LOCATION
Central materiel services should be centrally located in the hospital in order to
make it as convenient as possible to all of the hospital units, clinics, and delivery rooms,
as well as the operating suite and the pharmacy. Consideration should also be given to
the fact that both materiel and personnel must move into and from the CMS area.
However, in a small hospital where space is limited, the CMS and the operating suite
must, by necessity, be located in the same area, regardless of the inconvenience of its
location to other using units.
2-4.
WORKFLOW
a. Workflow is the sequence in which the services of CMS are done. The CMS
area is designed to ensure that the flow of materials and supplies processed by CMS is
safe and efficient. The efficiency, effectiveness, and safety of the CMS workflow require
an uninterrupted progression of processing equipment and supplies from a state of least
clean to sterile. No backtracking of CMS items to an area of previous processing can
occur without jeopardizing the principles of infection control or aseptic technique.
b. The workflow in CMS starts with receipt in CMS and ends with issue/delivery
from CMS. The workflow in CMS must be unbroken and safe with no backtracking
(going through the same area more than once) and no hazard to the personnel working
in CMS. Therefore:
(1) Items accepted in the CMS Receiving Area should have had gross soil
removed prior to arriving at CMS.
(2) Some CMS equipment does not go through the sterilization process
(suction machines, orthopedic beds, respirators, bed cradles, humidifier, and so forth),
but must be decontaminated and sanitized to the point it is clean and safe for use by the
next patient or staff member needing to use it.
(3)
Do not backtrack from a cleaner area to a less clean area.
c. A workflow diagram is illustrated in figure 2-1. The workflow sequence in the
CMS is:
(1) Receiving. Items that have been used in giving patient care on wards or
in clinics have had the gross soil removed and are returned to CMS.
MD0937
2-3
Previous Page
