A letter has been written by The British Dental Association (BDA) requesting that the Department of Health announce a timetable for the review of HTM 01-05, as promised by the Department in the Chief Dental Officer’s Dear Colleague letters in 2009.
The Department of Health guaranteed that a review would be held within two years, a deadline of December 2011 that is fast approaching. However, details of the review have not yet been laid out. The BDA is asking that the Department commit to a date to start the review, as well as providing them with details of how it will be carried out and assurance that they will be completely involved in the process.
The BDA’s request accompanies a new study on the time-dependent recontamination rates of sterilized dental instruments published in the 22 October issue of the British Dental Journal. The investigation further undermines the requirements that were laid out in the HTM 01-05, and follows recommendations that the Scottish Health Technologies Group (SHTG) published last year. The SHTG explained that there was not enough evidence from investigations to back the wrapping of dental instruments after sterilization and before use.
Dr Susie Sanderson, Chair of the BDA’s Executive Board, explained:
“The evidence base for aspects of the Department’s decontamination guidance has been contentious ever since its publication. The Department chose to offer reassurance about some of the concerns raised with a promise to review what it had imposed. It must now deliver on that promise, taking full account of emerging evidence and, where necessary, admitting shortcomings in the document and acting to resolve them.”
The pledge by the Department of Health in England to carry out a review of HTM 01-05 within two years was made in a Dear Colleague letter.
Written by Grace Rattue