Reusable Bottles: A Problem for Nurses

The nursing staff must go through several inconvenient procedures during their day when using water bottles.

Step 1:

The nurse takes a one-liter bottle of sterile water and fills the manufacturer's reusable bottle. This may happen a couple of times a day. The newer 140 & 160 series scopes need a separate water bottle (Fig. 2). If a hospital, then, has both types of scopes, the nurse has to fill up two water bottles each day. Nurses may also have to switch the two bottles in accordance with the scope being used at the time. This is time consuming, a major inconvenience and one of the biggest compliants.

Step 2:

At the end of the day, the nurses have to take the two water bottles and go through a meticulous cleaning process according to the manufacturer's guidelines. According to our nation-wide survey, nine out of ten nurses working in endoscopy departments are not familiar with the bottle cleaning instructions or the recommended SGNA guidelines.