To provide emergency medical assistance to the patient ambulance saves millions of people over the world. It’s essential to uplift the level of the health care system. As per the current scenario of COVID-19 virus, outbreak and other viruses’ safety of both patients and practitioners is the foremost task. Researchers are coming up with new medicines, and surgeons invent new innovative techniques to improve the living standards.
The ambulance is the big blessings in medical science. Along with transporting the patients to the medical center, it also offers preventive care while en route. So, cleaning and decontaminate the ambulance can prevent the patient from other additional threats.
For instance, the LuxUVC provide the ambulance cleaning service by using proper disinfector like UV disinfection for ambulances, and UV light intensity for disinfection.
The well-experienced workers of the LuxUVC team always initiate the ambulance cleaning with the backside of the ambulance. The reason is; this is the area that frequently comes into contact, and transmission of germs and bacteria happens. After that patient compartment ceiling taken into consideration for decontaminating because the ceiling is the only part of the ambulance, that patient can see most.
How To Clean The Driver Zone Clean?
The health of the ambulance driver is the foremost thing to consider. Always follow the tips to clean the driver area.
- When in the patient care compartment, take off your gloves.
- If you are in the patient care compartment, clean your hands with sanitizer or waterless hand gel.
- If the driver did not find any waterless gel in the patient care compartment, apply it before you touch the radio or wheel.
Tips To Decontimnate The Ambulance.
- Before Jumping On Interior Clean The Exterior.
When you start the cleaning, always go by cleaning the exterior and then jump on the interior. To cover the entire ambulance with the soap, take a sponge soaked with soap water and one brush. If the tires have mud or dirt, then firstly scrub with a brush with an extra cleaner like a degreaser. Whenever you wash the ambulance, then wash the tires also.
- Clean The Interior Of The Ambulance.
Cleaning the interior of the ambulance by wearing gloves start with cleaning seats and floor. Keep away the rubbish bag so that you get rid of used trash. To clean the radio, console, or other electronic equipment, you can use the UV disinfection for ambulances disinfector but do not spray directly on electronics. Apart from this, you can directly spray on the door handles, rag, and radio microphones because they are the high touched surface by EMTs and paramedics.
The stretcher needs the highest cleaning or a new cleaning after each dispatch; they are used for transporting the various disease—infected patients. Always clean the straps of stretcher after each use. Then come to mattress, remove the mattress from the frame disinfect each handrail, and frame the undercarriage and cot for the cleaning of plexiglass use only glass cleaner, not a disinfectant.
- Disinfect The Ambulance Items.
Sweep the debris or dirt on the floor from the ambulance, then spray the disinfectant and left for a while the mop with tap water. Make-sure instead of wash wipe down the electronic probes like pulse ox and lead cables. Wipe the backboards, head blocks, regulator, earpieces, and stethoscope bell. Dry the BB cuff and then place back on the ambulance.
These are the necessary steps to clean the equipment, and if you are infected by coronavirus or other illness, then take further precautions. In the current situation, the whole world is suffering from SARSCOV2, so it’s very vital to focus on decontamination.
- Patients Confirmed With SARSCOV2 and Ebola.
The patients confirmed from SARSCOV2 and Ebola transported to medical centers. Those ambulances need deep cleaning. It takes three people in team two to follow the personal protective equipment (PPE) and perform decontamination. The one will not follow PPE but available for the decontamination documents and other assistance.
- Choose the appropriate place for ambulance decontamination to save the team from weather elements.
- Set up the circumference for the safety of public and decontamination personnel.
- Controlling of climate is favorable.
- Stabilize the warm, hot, and cold zone around the ambulance and proper PPE to enter.
The Before, During, After Decontamination Ways To Clean The Ambulance.
- Before Decontamination
- Don’t allow the people in the potentially contaminated place.
- Place the items in the categories like the waste drapes, wipes, and PPE should be packed carefully and dispose of as soon as possible.
- All the PPE items should me pull on and take off as per the organization protocols.
- To protect the employee from biological exposures and chemical exposures on the lane of disinfectant used PPE selection is completed
- During Decontamination
- Clean the unused medical equipment that is placed in the protective bags and put them in the warm zone. And whenever equipment takes out from the protective bag for disinfecting purposes, carefully determine it works appropriately.
- If any bodily fluid is visible on the surface, as per the EPA registered disinfectant, it will wipe down with absorbent materials before the fluid gets soaked.
- If the ambulance is draped, then remove the drapes down outside means from ceiling to floor.
- Roll out the front drape to the rear of the compartment and outside drape in.
- For the patient care compartment, two attendants are enough to disinfect the interior from frequently touched surfaces like door handles to limited touched generated aerosols by using the wipe method.
- Split the workers in a team so they can talk to each other during the decontamination process.
- When you completed the ambulance’s interior decontamination, then collect the waste like PPE, wipes, and dispose of in category A.
- Physically wipe down the exterior of the ambulance with UV disinfection for ambulances. Clean the contaminated area, along with the patient’s door and handles. Cleaning the ambulance’s exterior is much easier than cleaning the ambulance, and it takes less time and does not need full disinfectant wipe down.
- Doffing is the last step, and it happens when the outside surface with the water bag included have been moped with disinfectant.
- After Decontamination
- The third person left for decontamination document and other assistance should supervise doffing as per the organizations doffing protocols.
- According to the organization’s protocols, the federal regulation of category A infectious substances waste can be disposed of.
- Use the additional cleaning methods if it is not required to get the double assurance of personal and public vehicles. UV light intensity for disinfection, chlorine dioxide gas, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, or hydrogen peroxide vapor is another disinfection method used against the organisms in body fluids methods that require special equipment and PPE.
- After finishing the cleaning of an ambulance, return to service.
Conclusion
Being a crew member of the transport department takes a few hours to disinfect the ambulance and maintain the hygiene for the patient and the driver. Do the whole cleaning by wearing gloves, but if gloves are not visibly soiled, then you take from your privately owned vehicle like a fire truck or squad car.
