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Basic Life Support training
Be prepared. Be compliant. Be confident
2.5 hours Resuscitation Council Compliant Course
Our Basic Life Support (BLS) training for dental professionals is designed to meet the specific needs of dental teams, ensuring compliance with CQC/ HIW/ HIS and Resuscitation Council UK guidelines. Through hands-on practice and scenario-based learning, you’ll build the confidence and skills to respond to emergencies with clarity and competence.
Whether you’re a practice owner, dental nurse, hygienist, or receptionist, BLS is not just a requirement—it’s a responsibility. We make it simple, practical, and engaging.
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Why do we need to test decontamination equipment so often?Since it is not practical to test the decontamination status of instruments at the end of the decontamination process, testing is required to ensure that decontamination equipment is working consistently and effectively to the parameters that were set when it was installed and during validation.
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Why do instruments need to be dry before they go into an autoclave?If instruments are stored wet prior to sterilization, residual water is a potential breeding medium for residual microbes. Water droplets on instrument surfaces might also impede the sterilization process by not allowing effective steam penetration.
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Why do we need to buy a washer disinfector?Moving to an automated process is the recommended method for cleaning re-usable medical devices. The reasons for this are: to increase safety for staff who process the instruments; automated systems can be validated and tested to ensure that are consistently effective. Washer disinfectors will be the preferred automated system.
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How often does Decon equipment need to be tested?This depends on the type of equipment (ultrasonic cleaner, washer disinfector or sterilizer) but there are tests carried out each day, some additional tests carried out weekly and further test (most of which a qualified Test Person must carry out) performed according to manufacturer's instructions
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What size of Decontamination room do we need?The size of a LDU depends on how many surgeries will use the facility, how many instruments will be processed and how many pieces of decontamination equipment will be required. This needs to be worked out for each individual setting. We can always help and advise you with this.
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Why do we need a cleaning and rinsing sink if we are moving away from manual to automated processing, particularly if space is a problem?Even when using an automated system, there are likely to be some instruments that cannot be cleaned in this manner. Therefore, manual cleaning is required for these instruments and for occasions when the automated system is unavailable. The preferred method for manual cleaning involves the use of two sinks, one for cleaning and one for rinsing, or a sink and a basin as a short term temporary measure.
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Does the decontamination room need to have a hand hygiene sink?Yes. Having a hand hygiene sink in the LDU enables it to be readily available and used exclusively for the routine hand washing required when processing instruments through decontamination (before instrument cleaning and between the dirty and clean processes).
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What are the ventilation requirements for a single room local decontamination unit?To reduce the possible recontamination of instruments the preferred direction of air flow is from the "clean" area to the "dirty" area. When installing ventilation equipment consideration should be given to the heat and steam generated by the decontamination equipment used. An extraction fan sited above the "dirty" area will help provide the correct direction of air movement and assist in providing a comfortable working environment for staff. The use of freestanding or ceiling-mounted fan units is not recommended.
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If I have two practices, one with an LDU and the other without, can I transport my instruments a short distance between practices?Yes. The way the instruments are transported must comply with Carriage of Dangerous Goods Regulations.
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Why is cleaning the instruments before sterilization so important?The purpose of cleaning is to remove debris and reduce microbial load as far as possible before sterilization. Prions, unlike other potentially infective agents, are not destroyed by sterilization. It is therefore essential that instruments are cleaned effectively to ensure that there is no residual debris or contamination prior to sterilization.
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What is an automatic control test and why do we need to do one if we have a printer?An Automatic Control Test (ACT) is used to determine whether the machine is continuing to reproduce the cycle parameters (e.g time and temperature,) specified at validation. It is recommended that an ACT is performed daily. This can be done by checking that the parameters recorded on the printout or data logger are compatible with the values obtained when the equipment was last tested by a test person. The ACT can be performed by either using a TST strip for N class or a Helix device for S and B class.
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