The Operating Theatre Journal - Journal - Page 8
Meet Sharon, the entry-level Decontamination Technician,
with 20 years’ experience!
I recently asked the question on LinkedIn...are decontamination professionals in the UK underpaid?
The results could have been easily predicted. Indeed, they didn’t
come as any surprise to me. 90% of respondents answered ‘yes’ to the
question, and 5% answered ‘no’. The remaining 5% said ‘other’, and
that’s where it gets interesting.
So, with no experience in healthcare, never mind decontamination,
Sharon applied for the job and was successful. Of course, like most,
Sharon had no idea what decontamination was and had never considered
where, how, or when surgical instruments are sterilised between uses!
Fast forward to 2022, and Sharon now has 20 years of experience and
is highly skilled and competent in her role. She has gained technical
qualifications, completed annual competency assessments and
regularly trains and mentors less experienced colleagues. Despite this,
Sharon is still being paid at band 2, the same band as an entry-level
Technician with no experience.
This lack of available further education means that the Decontamination
Technician role is unquestionably an entry level job. It could therefore
be reasoned that a band 2 NHS salary appropriately reflects this,
although I would argue that this demonstrates a lack of understanding
of the importance and challenges of the role. But what about those
Technicians like Sharon that have significant experience and don’t want
to (or haven’t had the opportunity to) progress to a management or
more senior role? Should they remain at band 2 level, even if it is the
top of the pay scale? Is that fair?
For me, this is where we need to start. There is of course a requirement
to support staff who want to develop into management roles. It would
be a mistake, however, to concentrate solely on those staff that want
to progress beyond a Technician role, while ignoring the vast majority
of decontamination staff who are content to remain as Technicians, and
work day in and day out to keep work flowing and patients safe.
There are few careers that are as important, varied and interesting
as decontamination. Despite what many people think, it isn’t
simply glorified dishwashing - and this is a hill I’m willing to die on!
Decontamination sciences delivers a unique combination of technology,
engineering and healthcare science, something you’d struggle to find
elsewhere. In a days’ work a Technician can be validating a steriliser
cycle, carrying out protein tests on a washer load, inspecting
instruments for damage or delivering equipment to Theatres.
LinkedIn
pollpoll
results
(Gordon
Allan) Allan)
LinkedIn
results
(Gordon
Of course, it’s easy to say that we’re underpaid. Ask any profession in
the world the same question and it’s highly likely that the majority will
respond with a resounding YES. The recent strikes by our healthcare
and transport colleagues across the UK (among others) are pertinent
examples. What’s interesting about the 5% that answered ‘other’ are
the conversations and comments that followed. A core purpose of
#BeyondCleanUK is to get people talking, to provide a platform for
decontamination professionals to have their voice heard, and talk you
did.
The ensuing discussion centred predominantly around two areas - entry
level pay and career progression. It’s worth noting here that the question
posed in the poll was deliberately vague. The term “decontamination
professionals” can encompass a wide range of roles, from Trainee or
Apprentice Technician to Department Manager; Engineer to Authorising
Engineer; and a huge variety of roles in between. Think Quality Lead,
Trainer, Co-ordinator and much, much more. It’s difficult therefore to
say that all decontamination professionals are underpaid, particularly
when a manager could feasibly be on a salary more than double that
of a technician.
So, let’s meet Sharon* our entry-level Decontamination Technician,
with 20 years’ experience!
* Not real name
Sharon started her career as a
Decontamination Technician with
her local NHS trust in 2002. With
no further education courses
available for budding Technicians
like Sharon to undertake before
securing a job in decontamination,
the local decontamination unit
relied on recruiting members of
the public with no experience
or knowledge into Technician or
Trainee Technician roles (unless
they got very lucky and found
*Not real name
someone with experience that
Meet Sharon
was looking for a move).
8
So how do we reward, and perhaps more importantly retain, these
highly skilled and competent professionals? A quick look at the NHS
Jobs website (www.jobs.nhs.uk) shows Trainee Technician and
Technician posts advertised at band 2; Technician, Senior Technician
and Supervisor posts advertised at band 3; and Senior Technician and
Supervisor posts advertised at 4. In my opinion, a protected structure
for decontamination professionals must be achieved, where trained
and competent Technicians can progress from band 2 to band 3 as they
accumulate experience, knowledge and educational qualifications,
without the need to assume management responsibility.
It may only be a start, but rewarding #decontamination Technicians
like Sharon with a band 3 salary is surely the only way to ensure that
we have a competent and committed decontamination workforce in
the future.
For more information on how you can get involved in the mission of
Beyond Clean UK to support the digital networking, education, and
engagement of Decontamination professionals around the UK, please
contact uk@beyondclean.net
Gordon Allan
THE OPERATING THEATRE JOURNAL
www.otjonline.com