Your trainer should brief you on the problems of cross-infection before you commence any manikin training.
Although the risk of disease transmission during CPR training is extremely low, care should always be taken. SLSA recommends following the ARC Guideline 10.3 – Cross Infection Risks and Manikin Disinfection to minimise the risks of infection during CPR training.
Rules for low-risk CPR training
During training:
✓ DO
- Keep clean, contaminated and sterile items separate.
- Use your own manikin mask and bag.
- Recognise when you have not followed standard infection control procedures.
- Wash your hands with warm soapy water before, during and after training sessions.
After training:
✓ DO
- Keep clean, contaminated and sterile items separate.
- Disassemble the manikin as recommended by the manufacturer.
- Wash and scrub all accessible parts of the manikin with warm water and detergent. This includes face pieces.
- Rinse the washed parts with fresh running water.
- Soak the accessible manikin parts and oxygen masks in a disinfecting agent such as 10 per cent bleach or 70 per cent alcoholic chlorhexidine for at least 2 minutes. Rinse again to ensure that all bleach/disinfectant solution has been removed.
- Inspect the training equipment for cracks and tears to make thorough cleaning possible.
- Replace any cracked or torn parts.
Anyone who is a carrier of any infectious disease, such as hepatitis or HIV, should seek advice before commencing resuscitation training.
Other important safety considerations related to CPR, such as manual handling, are referenced throughout this module.