Cleaning and decontaminating optical equipment safely

Optical equipment must be cleaned and decontaminated safely. Support staff should only clean items they are trained and authorised to handle, using the products, methods and schedules specified in local procedures.

Support-staff boundaries

• Follow manufacturer instructions and the local SOP.
• Use only approved products and methods.
• Do not spray liquids directly onto sensitive equipment unless the instructions explicitly allow it.
• Do not set your own method for equipment that touches the eye or mucous membranes.
• Escalate damaged, visibly contaminated or hard-to-clean equipment.
• Ask before cleaning a device if you are not sure whether it is safe for you to do so.

Common equipment and items

Support staff may be asked to clean trial frames, spectacle frames handled by customers, dispensing tools, occluders, rulers, chin and head rests, desk surfaces and other non-contact touchpoints. After training, some staff may also do room-reset tasks.

Items must be physically clean before any disinfection step because visible soil reduces disinfectant effectiveness.

Devices that contact the eye, tonometry equipment, diagnostic contact lenses and other specialist items require registrant-led local control. Support staff should follow the agreed process, keep clean and used items separate, report problems and not guess about methods.

Equipment SOP ownership

If you are not trained and authorised to clean a device, do not improvise. Keep people safe by escalating and following the SOP.