In this months EBME newsletter John Sandham has an article about acceptance testing.
"The Electronic and Biomedical Engineering (EBME) department should ensure processes are in place for acceptance testing. These processes will check that equipment meets safety standards, meets clinical requirements, and the procurement requirements of the Hospital from the day it arrives."
I question as to whether the EBME department can be responsible for ensuring that new equipment meets clinical requirements. Surely this is the case of stable door after the horse is long gone. The clinicians should ensure that the equipment they intend to buy for their use is suitable long before the order is placed i.e. before the item turns up at the hospital. They have to be responsible for their own decisions. If they are capable of spending tax payers money then they should be capable of ensuring that the product they decide on is right for the job that they want to do, not leave it to the EBME department to make clinical assements, something that we are not qualified to do.
Also what is meant by "the procurement requirements of the hospital". It is not the job of EBME departments to oversee the actions of the procurement department who should be adherering to the procurement policy of the establishment with no exceptions.
