Reflection of the Aseptic Technique

During my community placement I was given many opportunities to dress wounds, replace catheters and attend to PEG’s, all of which are done using the ‘Aseptic Technique’. For procedures such as pressure sores, leg ulcers, simple grazes’ removing drains or sutures, the ‘clean technique’ is used which is a modified aseptic technique and aims to avoid introducing micro organisms to a susceptible site and also to prevent cross contamination to patients and staff, it differs from an aseptic technique, as the use of sterile equipment and the environment are not as crucial as would be required for asepsis (Gough 2009).
The Aseptic technique is one of a number of procedures that contributes to preventing Health Care Associated Infections (HCAI) and is a means of preventing or minimising the risk of introducing harmful micro-organisms into sterile areas of the body when undertaking clinical procedures (DoH 2008). Especially in hospitals, effort is made to care for surgical or medically vulnerable patients in a fully aseptic way. However it is a little different practising the aseptic technique out in the community and in a patient’s home as the nature of a home environment can make it difficult to maintain control over any procedure, but particular problems arise when the procedure involves trying to prevent contamination. The DoH (2008) has advocated the use of aseptic technique as one of the fundamental approaches to preventing HCAIs both within a hospital and community setting. As a result of the increasingly high profile of infection control, nursing staff practicing in the community are being asked to provide assurances that the principles of asepsis are adhered to. Aseptic technique can be divided in to two different processes: surgical asepsis and aseptic non-touch technique (ANTT). Surgical aseptic technique is used within an operating theatre or during invasive procedures within critical care departments. ANTT is a method which is used to prevent