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Sterile Services Departments

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Central Sterile Services Department

The sterile services department (SSD), sometimes called a centralised sterile services department, plays an essential role in hospital operations.

It is where reusable surgical instruments and medical equipment are cleaned, checked, sterilised, and prepared for use again.

The department handles the disassembly, cleaning, and disinfection of items used in theatres and other clinical areas.

ModuleCo Modular CSSD Internal Operation Image
ModuleCo Modular Central Sterile Services Department Facility Image

Clinical Instrument Management

It also inspects and assembles instrument trays and packs, carries out safety checks, and completes the sterilisation process. Once complete, the items are stored until they are ready to be returned to clinical teams.

The SSD also manages the collection of used equipment and the distribution of sterile supplies, helping to reduce infection risk and maintain patient safety.

St Austell Surgical Hub Operating Theatre

“This project has been quite a remarkable feat of engineering. When our Head of Sterile services and I saw 16 modules arrive on site in early April 2020, we couldn’t have imagined that just four months later we would have the newest and most modern sterile service department in the NHS.”

“The safety of our patients is of paramount important to us and our new sterile service unit will help us to ensure that we continue to provide the highest levels of safe and compassionate care.”

Buckingham Healthcare NHS Trust partnered with ModuleCo to build a Sterile Services Department at Stoke Mandeville Hospital

Sterile Services Design and Build

ModuleCo sterile services departments are fully compliant with Health Building Note 13. Each facility is carefully planned around the principle of unidirectional workflow. This ensures that clean and dirty items remain separate throughout the process, reducing the risk of cross-contamination and maintaining the microbiological integrity of both processed items and raw materials.

Our modular CSSDs are built with all essential supporting spaces, including an ISO Class 8 Packing Area, dedicated clean and dirty zones, and the required decontamination, sterilisation, and storage areas.

We work with all major suppliers of washer-disinfectors and sterilisation equipment, selecting systems that match your operational needs.

Our SSD designs also consider long-term growth, ensuring that layouts can be adapted or expanded as demand increases. Facilities can be scaled to serve a single hospital or support multiple sites as part of a regional hub. Our in-house design team work closely with clinical leads and estates teams to optimise workflow, reduce unnecessary staff movement, and promote safe, ergonomic working environments. Every layout is tailored to support efficiency, infection control, and future operational resilience.

Sterile Services Projects

Stoke Mandeville Hospital
Sterile Services Department

ModuleCo built a Centralised Sterile Services Department (CSSD) at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. The CSSD was designed to manage increased operational demand for medically sterile instruments from the Hospital and, when the need arises, other local hospitals as well.

Project Story

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    Frequently Asked Questions

    What is a Central Sterile Services Department (CSSD)?

    A Central Sterile Services Department (CSSD) is a dedicated hospital facility where reusable surgical instruments and equipment are cleaned, sterilised, and prepared for safe reuse. It manages the disassembly, decontamination, inspection, and sterilisation of instruments, ensuring infection control and patient safety across theatres and clinical areas.

    Are modular sterile services departments compliant with NHS design standards?

    Yes. All ModuleCo sterile services departments are fully compliant with Health Building Note 13 (HBN 13). Each facility is built around unidirectional workflow principles, maintaining separation of clean and dirty zones, and includes ISO Class 8 packing areas, decontamination zones, sterilisation chambers, and sterile storage.

    Can a modular sterile services department be designed to support multiple hospitals?

    Absolutely. ModuleCo designs scalable sterile services facilities that can support a single hospital or operate as a regional hub. Layouts are tailored for current demand and future growth, enabling high-throughput instrument processing across multiple sites while ensuring ergonomic, efficient, and safe workflows.

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