The hospital team that sanitises surgical instruments from the Trust, field hospitals and warships

The Sterilisation and Disinfection Unit (SDU) deals with instruments from the operating theatres within Salisbury District Hospital as well as those used by GP surgeries in the area, the south Wiltshire podiatry trays, local cosmetic surgery, emergency medics and four private hospitals.

The Salisbury unit also holds the Ministry of Defence contract which means that it receives all the instruments used in field hospital operations, such as Afghanistan, those used by fast response medics, the Royal Marines and on Navy warships.

Every year, a total of 170,000 items go through the unit, comprising 152,000 instruments such as scissors and knives, and 18,000 flexible endoscopes, which cost around £25k each and require separate decontamination machinery.

Mr Warburton, pictured above right, said: “We have had the MoD contract for eight years now and we have two years left on the current contract.

“Every 12 months, a unit will bring up a batch of instruments for us so we usually get one every couple of months.”

A former anti-tank detachment commander, Mr Warburton left the army looking for management work but admits when he first saw the advertisement for an SDU production manager at Salisbury, he had no idea what the unit did.

“I was a corporal and wanted to build on the management experience I had,” he said.

“I had no SDU background but I could understand what a production manager was so I did a little bit of research on SDU and applied for the job.

“Many of the interviewees had a background in the NHS but they didn’t have the management skills which was why I was successful.

“The subject matter can be taught and learnt. I spent the next five years learning about the NHS and becoming an expert in both sterilisation and decontamination, so that when my former manager retired, I took over as department manager.

“I have since become a chartered member of the Institute of Decontamination Sciences and have worked with Public Health England to develop efficacy tests for washer disinfectors."

The team consists of four supervisors, seven senior technicians, 30 sterile service technicians and two office staff.

It takes 12 to 18 months to become a fully-trained technician. A senior technician then goes on to take a Level 3 certificate, becoming trained in decontamination.

Supervisors also undertake City & Guilds courses, becoming authorised users for sterilisers, disinfectors and endoscope disinfection machines.

“Anyone who comes for an interview, we encourage them to have a walk around the department,” Mr Warburton says. “We go to the wash room where we come into contact with blood, faeces or bodily fluid. It can be a bit gory.

“For those coming in without any experience, we start with on the job training which involves a buddying up system. They start on trays, learning what the items are and how they get laid out.

“They then move onto washing, disinfection and sterilisation - moving around the department and growing the knowledge.

“Everyone wears full PPE (personal protection equipment) so visors, goggles, gowns, aprons etc.”

Shift patterns are as follows: 7am to 3pm, 9am to 5pm, 1pm to 9pm, 4pm to midnight and 11pm to 7am.

The unit includes five, 28ft, cubic steam sterilisers, five thermal washer disinfectors, five endoscope washer disinfectors and a packing area.

Once they have undergone disinfection and sterilisation, the instruments are packed into all the different procedure packages and delivered to customers.

Deliveries extend as far north as Swindon and as far south as Dorchester.