Hospital infections are a serious problem. Dangerous germs can persist on various surfaces in medical facilities and endanger the health of patients. Until now, however, there have been no guidelines for the hygienic design of product surfaces in the medical sector. A new guideline from the Association of German Engineers (VDI) now closes this gap and defines hygienic surfaces.
The guideline "VDI 5706 Sheet 1 E" classifies hygienically relevant surfaces in medical facilities into risk levels and hygiene classes. This is based on the area of use, the frequency of contact and the associated risk of colonization or infection. The assessment of the risk relates primarily to patients. The classification and the resulting hygiene classes can be used to derive decisions for the necessary design of a surface and to determine cleaning/disinfection measures.
In addition, the guideline "VDI 5706 Sheet 2 E" provides an overview of hygiene-relevant design recommendations for hygienically relevant surfaces and contains corresponding design instructions. It refers to corresponding surfaces of medical devices, furnishings and floor surfaces in the healthcare sector. These surfaces are cleaned in particular by means of wipe cleaning or disinfection. If cleaning is inadequate, there is a risk of transmitting dangerous microorganisms to patients or staff and causing infections.
The target groups of the two guidelines are medical device manufacturers, users of medical devices and operators of medical facilities, manufacturers and users of objects in the medical environment, hospital planners and supervisory authorities. The guideline is published by Beuth Verlag and can be obtained from the VDI for a fee.
