Introduction

The Association of vDSMH is a society on behalf of the Specialists of Sterile Medical Devices in Dutch hospitals and was founded in September 1999 (Vereniging Deskundige Steriele Medische Hulpmiddelen / vDSMH). The Sterilization Specialist is reponsible for the quality of the sterile supply cycle in a hospital.

Objective: The objective of the association is to assist the work and the position of the Sterilization Specialist in Dutch hospitals.

The Society has made a standard regarding the responsibility of the disposable sterile supply in hospitals. They also published a function profile of the Specialists of Sterile Medical Devices on behalf of their members.

One of the aims is to advocate the cooperation of the organizations working in the field of sterile supply, as well as national and international professional organizations on behalf of sterile products.

Furthermore the vDSMH is a possible discussion partner for the Ministry of Health and other organizations in the field of sterilization.

Every member of the vDSMH works as a Specialists of Sterile Medical Devices in a hospital and is member of a working group of the Society. There are the folowing working groups:

• Function profile Sterilization Specialist
• Training program for Sterilization Specialists
• New Sterilization Methods
• Education
• Training course of validation of moist heat sterilization
• Working standards for sterile medical devices
• National and International Standardization

Several members of the Society are CEN/ISO delegates or are member of the Dutch Standardization Committee.

vDSMH Events

to be announced...

vDSMH Contact

Diana Bijl
Email:

Information about the Netherlands

Location

The Netherlands are in Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany. The Netherlands' territory is mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders), with some hills in the southeast. With a total of 1,027 km land boundaries, The Netherlands share borders with Belgium (450 km) and Germany (577 km). The Netherlands' coastline to the North Sea extends over 451 km. The Netherlands consist of twelve provinces (Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland) and two dependent areas (Aruba, Netherlands Antilles).

Statistics

• Area: 41,526 km² (land 33,883 km², water 7,643 km²)
• Population: 16,318,199 (July 2004)
• Capital: Amsterdam; The Hague is the seat of the government
• Language: Dutch
• Religion: Roman Catholic 31%, Protestant 21%, Muslim 4.4%, other 3.6%, unaffiliated 40% (1998)
• Climate: temperate, marine with cool summers and mild winters
• Time Zone: Central European Time [GMT +1]
• Currency: Euro [EUR]