Survey of instrument decontamination in dental surgeries located in Scottish prisons

We describe an observational study in which the policies and procedures of dental surgeries in 14 of the 15 Scottish prisons for sterilizing instruments were viewed directly by a trained surveyor. The survey found that several key elements in the decontamination cycle, ranging from procurement of devices, cleaning, sterilizing, testing, maintenance, quality management and training were deficient in a number of aspects. The use of a central sterile supply service may be a more cost effective approach for the provision of compliant instrument reprocessing facilities in the sites surveyed.