The Department of Health Sciences in collaboration with KDB Health Care hosted a symposium on decontamination and sterilization on 19 January 2022 at the Bindura University Town Campus.
The symposium was held as part of a training programme for the Post Graduate Diploma in Infection Prevention and Control. The Infection Prevention and Control diploma which runs for two years was launched in 2018 with the support of the Infection Control Association of Zimbabwe. The postgraduate students who managed to make presentations are part of the second group which registered in 2020 and are being wholly trained by the University, without the support of partners as was the case with the pioneer group. The Decontamination and Sterilization module is the fourth module for the second cohort hence the symposium was held in support of the learning activity associated with the Diploma programme. Various attendees graced the symposium namely health students, health practitioners from Bindura Provincial Hospital, Shashi Hospital, PSMI, Freda Rebecca, Trojan, Chiwaridzo Clinic and representatives of other relevant local community organisations.
KDB Health Care, a major supplier of medical consumables in collaboration with the Department of Health Sciences, invited community health workers from around Bindura as an initiative to raise awareness on the best practices in decontamination and sterilization thereby reducing patients’ risk of getting infections from contaminated medical equipment. The programme gave insights into the best disposal methods for sterilizers, developing standard procedures for decontamination and sterilization in all health centres throughout the country. The hosting of the symposium provided an opportunity for the Bindura and Mashonaland Central health professionals to lay the groundwork for the birth of an Infection Prevention Association within the province with the assistance of the Infection Control Association of Zimbabwe (ICAZ). It is envisaged that the association will be launched soon.
The coordinator for the Post Graduate Diploma in Infection Prevention and Control, Ms Marcelyn Magwenzi, said: “The event is there to educate, assist and raise awareness to our community health practitioners so as to improve decontamination and sterilization practices to prevent the possibility of patients getting complications from contaminated equipment”. Ms Magwenzi further added that the symposium provided an opportunity to get insights into minimum standards and best practices in decontamination and sterilization. Bindura University of Science Education plans to launch a Certificate in Decontamination and Sterilization targeted at health professionals working in decontamination and sterilization in various healthcare facilities across the country on the backdrop of this symposium.
The Decontamination and Sterilization Symposium in pictures
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