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The Decontamination of surgical instruments in the NHS in England update report: 'A Step Change'

A review of the decontamination of surgical instruments in the NHS in England' published in December 2001 by NHS Estates and the Department of Health provided background information relating to the development and implementation of the Decontamination Programme aimed at improving the quality of surgical instrument reprocessing across the healthcare sectors in England. This report provides an update on progress towards compliance with current best practice guidance and shows, from analysis of data collected from the various stages of the decontamination assessment programme, that between November 2001 and August 2003 a significant 'step change' occurred with respect to improvements across all aspects of the decontamination life-cycle.