Achieving best practice in the management of infant-feeding equipment

Abstract

BackgroundIn Australia, there is lack of uniformity in the management of infant-feeding equipment. This issue became apparent at our health service (Southern Health) following a review of special care nurseries at two hospitals. The reviewwas conducted by the Department of Health Victoria (formerly Department of Human Services). MethodsAs a result of the Department of Health review, a literature search was conducted by the infection control team for evidence of contaminated breast-feeding equipment as a source of infection in health facilities and to determine adherence to best practice in the management of this equipment. Contact was made with some Australian hospitals with level 1 or 2 nurseries that may have developed protocols on management of infant-feeding equipment to support our hypothesis of a lack of uniformity in this area. Following this research, a protocol on the management of infant-feeding equipment was developed for Southern Health. ResultsAcross Australia, it was found that different healthcare facilities recommended different levels of reprocessing for equipment utilised in the same manner. At the health facilities reviewed by the Department of Health, investigation confirmed that infant-feeding equipment had been incorrectly classified as non-critical medical equipment. Infant-feeding equipment meets the Spaulding classification of semi-critical medical equipment. ConclusionHealthcare workers have a duty of care to maintain appropriate infection control principles when mothers use medical equipment to assist them with breast-feeding. Equipment that is re-used for mothers and their babies for the purpose of expressing breast milk and feeding babies must at a minimumundergo high-level disinfection or sterilisation between each use