New Central Sterilisation at Füssen Hospital

Unreine Seite Vorreinigungszone (HWP Planungsgesellschaft mbH, Fotograf: Peter Horn)

Reinigungs- und Desinfektionsgeräte (HWP Planungsgesellschaft mbH, Fotograf: Peter Horn)

Entnahmeseite Reinigungs- und Desinfektionsgerät (HWP Planungsgesellschaft mbH, Fotograf: Peter Horn)

Packbereich (HWP Planungsgesellschaft mbH, Fotograf: Peter Horn)

Beladeseite Sterilisation (HWP Planungsgesellschaft mbH, Fotograf: Peter Horn)

Entladeseite Sterilisation (HWP Planungsgesellschaft mbH, Fotograf: Peter Horn)

The new, modern central sterilisation facility at Füssen Hospital which came into service at the turn of the year 2012/2013 was achieved after only eight months of planning and implementation, during ongoing operations and for an overall cost of 1.3 million Euros. With high standards of hygiene, new technology, improved sterilisation processes and ideal, spatial access to the surgical department; the project which was planned by HWP Planungsgesellschaft mbH (HWP) in Stuttgart and realized by the General Contractor Münchner Medizin Mechanik (MMM), delivers a solution which ensures the highest level of patient hygiene safety.

The sterilization of instruments at Füssen Hospital had previously been an outsourced activity taking place within the hospital's premises. Following the end of a business arrangement, the hospital management took the opportunity to restructure and fully integrate the sterilization within its own operations. In order to optimize processes, the new 300-square-meter central sterilization could now be attached directly to the surgical area, which is where central sterilization had been previously and successfully carried out in the 1970s.   

Project Challenges

An essential challenge of the modernisation project was that the existing central sterilisation had to be gutted and rebuilt in close proximity to the surgical area and in-parallel to the ongoing surgical operation. Furthermore, the construction area had to be hygienically separated from the surgical area using of dust walls and the existing media supply needed to be completely dismantled, technically updated and rebuilt. Although the dismantling of the existing media installations led to numerous technical and structural restrictions, the new central sterilization went live, on schedule and within budget.   

Central Improvements

Because the new central sterilisation is adjacent to the surgical area, clean and unclean transports are no longer necessary between the two areas in Füssen hospital. This proximity has also made communication between surgical and sterilization staff more direct, smoother and easier.

Furthermore, since the new spaces benefit from natural day lighting and views of the rural area, the sterilisation staff have experienced considerable ergonomic improvements in the workplace. "Considering that our team previously worked in interior rooms with no natural lighting, this is obviously a significant improvement and a motivational factor for us." says Deputy Head of Department Central Sterile, Yvonne Stuhlreiter, about the new work environment.   

The renovation and relocation of the sterilisation unit offered further opportunities for employee orientated improvements. These included HVAC improvements and the procurement of height-adjustable tables, which increased employee comfort. Advanced storage options for the interval-storage in the packing area, and hygienically perfect storage of administrative documents could also be realised.

With the creation and expansion of the new space, hygienic standards could also be significantly increased. "Füssen Hospital now contains the latest technical equipment available that we have fully technically connected." says Walter Bischoff, medical equipment planner at HWP "With this the sterile documentation in terms of a continuous, seamless patient-related sterile documentation underwent a full update." With this shorter and improved sterile goods logistic, the effectiveness of the internal processes of the hospital are increased At the same time, the new design and layout of the central sterilisation allows the strategic, future possibility of being able to supply external parties, such as GPs' offices, with their sterile goods.

Summary and Outlook

The reconstruction of the central sterilisation unit constitutes the first fundamental steps towards the modernisation of the Füssen Hospital. This longer term development plan will see the service spectrum of the facility become both further specialised and extended.

Interview with Hospital Director Martin Wiedemann

“Central Sterilisation leads to Numerous Improvements.”
Since February 2013 Martin Wiedemann, in addition to his role as Care Manager, has taken on the function of the Hospital Director at the Füssen location, part of the network of hospitals in the Ostallgäu-Kaufbeuren. In an interview answers to the following questions were given:

What challenges did the new central sterilisation project face and how did you overcome them?

One major challenge was that we had very little time available for the project, from planning to completion. Thanks to the tightly integrated cooperation and continuous coordination between HWP and MMM, we were able to keep our tight schedule.
Other challenges resulted from the fact that we had to rebuild directly on the OR during on-going operation. This task required a lot of mutual understanding between the staff and the planning team, as conversion activities and noise pollution was inevitable.

What changes does the new central sterilisation bring to Füssen Hospital?

The new system technology increases our sterilisation efficiency and hygiene standards. The new concept for material and personnel locks also improves hygiene conditions overall. On top of that, due the close proximity the new central sterilisation to the surgical department, the transport routes for surgical instruments, for example are drastically shorten. Simultaneously, the new spatial arrangement also ensures closer links between our surgical department and the central sterilisation. The surgical staff can, for example, survey the prepared instruments before surgery and gain insights into the central sterilisation preparation processes. In addition to the personnel synergy, we've achieved a more deliberate material disposal for the surgical instruments. As you can see, with the new central sterilisation, numerous improvements for the staff and to the processes have already been achieved, aspects which we want to develop further in the future.

What are your firm plans for here in the future?

With the new central sterilisation and its proximity to the surgical department, communication and processes between the personnel of both departments have been so promising that we are planning a new organisational structure. We are striving for a common team structure for the central sterilization departments, surgical and anesthesia.