02/08/2019
MEDICAL GAS SERVICES
FUNCTIONS
1. Procurement, storing and maintaining a continuous supply of medical gases in the hospital, required at various stages of patient care.
2. In hospital with sufficient load, the supply should be central, but for small size hospitals with less than 50 beds, it is cost effective to use medium size cylinders on trolley in the wards, ICU, ICCU and even in the O.T.
3. It is on hospital managers to decide depending upon consumption of various gases.
SERVICES:-
1. The supply of medical gases shall have the facilities such as oxygen, suction and nitrous oxygen for Anesthesia and general patient care.
2. It may also supply Compressed air, Carbon dioxide, and nitrogen for other purposes, if the requirement is there in the hospital.
3. The management of the medical gases will be under the direct control of the anesthetist.
4. The anesthetist and OT sister should ensure proper replenishment of stock through stores and keep adequate stock to avoid stock out.
PROCEDURES:-
1. The hospital should always take medical gases supply from an agency with license to do so. At no point of time, industrial oxygen should be used in the hospital.
2. To avoid capital cost, the hospital should make arrangements with the gas agency for supplying of their own cylinders, which in any case are being rotated. Empty ones are given back and filled cylinders may not be purchased. The agency can be bargained to supply cylinders for total need of the hospital, as they are supplying gas also.
3. If cylinders are purchased by the hospital, a register with serial numbers of all the cylinders should be maintained. The hospital authorities through manifold technician will ensure that the empty cylinders are not exchanged from other cylinders, but their own cylinders are filled and brought back to the hospital.
4. At the time of purchasing new cylinder, always insist on Explosive Certificate from the regulatory authorities.
5. These cylinders should be sent for inspection periodically as specified by the gas agency.
6. When you go for central system, the company guides you for all the systems, which are required
a. Evaluate whether you require only wall outlets or flexible pendants in OT.
b. If the load on the OT is sufficient, the hospital should go for active anesthesia gas scavenging system.
c. Go for a suitable wall terminal unit that will not allow leakage and is easy to operate by nurses and other staff.
d. The central system must have zonal; isolation valves. It allows cutting of service of one area without affecting other areas of supply.
e. There should be alarm system to indicate the pressure in pipelines. It also indicates that the supply has changed from normal to standby.
f. The gas unit consists of:
i. Control panel
ii. Right and left bank of cylinders for oxygen and N2O
iii. Stand by arrangement (emergency supply manifold)
7. Main components of a vacuum system are:
a. Vacuum pump
b. Air receiver
c. Filter assembly
d. Control panel
8. Some knowledge of central gases supply will certainly help administrators while negotiating with the quoting companies.
9. Oxygen concentrators are also available for use in critical areas. The decision to have or not to have depends upon individual hospital.
10. Individual oxygen cylinder should not be used without properly fitting with oxygen therapy accessories, eg., Oxygen regulator, Flow meter and Humidifier, as has already been emphasized. For more info visit us at http://healthcareprojects.hospiconsultant.com/latest-update/medical-gas-services/91?utm_source=facebookpage