1. The importance of decontamination in hospitals and healthcare
2. The history of decontamination in hospitals
3. Quality and supply of water used in hospitals
4. Control of Legionella in hosptial potable water systems
5. Waterborne transmission of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
6 Mycobacteria chimaera infections and their transmission from heater-cooler units
7 Decontamination of hand washbasins and traps in hospitals
8 Infection control in Europe
9 The role of the nurse in decontamination
10 The role of protective clothing in healthcare and its decontamination
11 Cleaning and decontamination of the healthcare environment
12 Biocides and decontamination agents including sporicides for decontamination in hospitals
13 The role of antimicrobial surfaces in hospitals to reduce healthcare-associated infections (HAIs)
14 Use of gaseous decontamination technologies for wards and isolation rooms in hospitals and healthcare settings
15 An overview of automated room disinfection systems: When to use them and how to choose them
16 Testing strategies and international standards for disinfectants
17 The role of standards in decontamination
18 Decontamination of prions
19 Decontamination of dental devices in the hospital and general dental practice setting
20 An overview of current surgical instrument and other medical device decontamination practices
21 Efficacy of current and novel cleaning technologies (ProReveal) for assessing protein contamination on surgical instruments
22 Decontamination of flexible endoscopes
23 Sterilization of flexible endoscopes
24 Future trends in decontamination in hospitals and healthcare
Dr Jimmy Walker worked as a Scientific Leader in water microbiology and decontamination at Public Health England (PHE), Porton UK. He has 30 years' experience in public health microbiology with an extensive publication record, and regularly attended national and international scientific conferences. His particular interests were the presence of opportunistic pathogens in hospital water systems and advised hospitals on incidents and outbreaks associated with waterborne pathogens such as Legionella spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Mycobacteria spp. He worked closely with the Department of Health (DH England) and Health and Safety Executive in writing and developing national and international guidance on the microbiology of water and decontamination in healthcare.