Colleagues in Kingston Hospital’s estates and procurement teams were recently awarded a Health Service Journal (HSJ) Partnership Award in the category of ‘Best Estates Optimisation Project’, alongside Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Steris (a global provider of products and services supporting patient care) for their work in creating an innovative, purpose-built sterilisation and decontamination facility.
The Steris Chessington decontamination facility opened in July 2021 following an extensive programme of construction work, which continued throughout the COVID pandemic. Designed and built in partnership with South West London Procurement Partnership (SWLPP) it is the UK’s largest sterilisation and decontamination facility, and is equipped with industry leading Infection Prevention Technologies (IPT) and reprocessing equipment. The new facility has a processing capacity of over 15 million instruments per annum.
Judges said: “The collaborative approach demonstrated innovation and trust across the partnership, breaking down clinical barriers through high quality data to support innovation as well as, improve practice and service models, reducing variation. They also recognised the achievement of a sustainable solution that demonstrated excellent clinical, workforce and operational outcomes alongside a high level of social value. The quality of the build, the capacity modelling and the working environment showed the commitment of all partners to the estate and scheme.”
Kingston Hospital originally delivered decontamination services for reusable surgical equipment on site, however outsourcing this to the Steris Chessington facility allows for a number of service and quality improvements. The circular nature of the services delivered at the centre means that the Trust benefits from the latest products and innovations in surgical instrument decontamination, low temperature processing for surgical robotics and endoscopes and on-site instrument repair and procurement.
The HSJ Partnership Awards ceremony was held at Park Plaza, Westminster in Central London, and was attended by leaders and professionals from both the NHS and private sector as well as figures from non-clinical backgrounds.
For more information on the HSJ Partnership Awards visit: https://partnership.hsj.co.uk/
