Trust-wide Decontamination Officer

The University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust is looking to recruit an individual to act as a Trust-wide Decontamination Officer, providing assurance that decontamination practices comply with national guidance (HTM01-01 and HTM 01-06), Trust policy, and quality standards.

Role Overview

The post holder will coordinate and deliver a programme of decontamination audits across all Trust sites, chair the Decontamination Safety Group (DSG), and escalate risks and non-compliance through appropriate governance structures.

The role will act as a central point of contact for decontamination issues, supporting services to improve compliance, reduce risk, and maintain patient safety.

This position covers all Trust sites, therefore, the position holder must be able to travel between sites.

Responsibilities

• Support the Trust in maintaining compliance with decontamination legislation, relevant Health Technical Memoranda (HTM), ISO standards, and regulatory requirements including Care Quality Commission (CQC) and NHS England.
• Undertake scheduled decontamination audits across all Trust sites, ensuring that policies, procedures, and practices are reviewed against best practice, national guidance, and meet, as a minimum, Essential Quality Requirements (EQR), with progression towards Best Practice (BP).
• Implement and monitor decontamination policies and procedures, ensuring they remain effective and aligned to national standards and quality management systems.
• Maintain audit records, trackers, and action plans, ensuring non-conformances are identified, documented, and escalated appropriately through the governance forums.
• Provide advice and guidance to clinical and non-clinical teams on decontamination compliance following audits, highlighting risks relating to processes, equipment, and practice, acting as a point of contact for decontamination queries, and escalating concerns appropriately.
• Coordinate and chair the Decontamination Safety Group (DSG), ensuring actions are recorded, monitored, and escalated appropriately, supporting effective communication of decontamination performance and risks across the Trust.