EBME Forums Forums Management Medical Equipment Management Graseby MS16A and MS16 syringe drivers

I have been told that Andrew Dickman, of Syringe Drivers in Palliateive Care fame recently annnounced that the MHRA or some other authority were going to issue advice requireing the withdrawal of all Graseby MS syringe drivers from clinical use.
I have spoken to the MHRA who deny any plans to publish anything about the Graseby syringe drivers.
Does anyone know anything about this?

And was any hint given regarding what the replacement is to be, I (and, I should imagine, many others) wonder?

Meanwhile, here is a link to a preview of the famous book being mentioned.

I have since heard that it is the NPSA that is planning to issue the advice. This is the response from the Safer Medication and Medical Devices; Primary Care, Ambulances and Specialists Programmes, Research and Evaluation Lead.

Thank you for your enquiry.

The NPSA is currently working on a purchasing for safety Rapid Response Report (RRR) regarding ambulatory syringe drivers. We are concerned that some drivers are calibrated in mm of plunger travel which seems to increase the possibility for human error and do not have the safety features recommended by current IEC standards.

We will be recommending that these devices be replaced over a three year period, with organizations given the choice of whether to carry out a single ‘flash’ replacement or a phased approach (with some caution regarding the safety of having a mixed variety of devices in use).

Draft guidance has recently undergone a consultation phase and is in preparation for Department of Health approval. The current target date for publication, depending on whether DH give their approval, is mid December.

I hope this is helpful.
__________________________
Looks like palliative care is in for a troubled time.

It looks like this NPSA *Quango have been pretty quick to cotton on to that, then.

As we all know, there are now quite a few credible alternatives to the good old MS16A and its derivatives ... so one wonders why "they" just don't come out and recommend a list of replacements.

* Another one for the "bonfire", perhaps. Roll on November 5th.

Here in the land of the long white cloud, the Government Medical Devise folk decided to withdraw the MS16 about 18 months ago. The ZiMed pump was, after much consideration (ie: which pump is the cheapest) was selected as a suitable replacement. The ZiMeds are now being withdrawn by the supplier and replaced with Niki T34 pumps. Don't want to say to much about the ZiMeds as I know their agents trawl these forums, and I would hate my comments to put more pomes out of work!

Yes ... I believe that the T34 (in its various guises) is made in Israel by CME.

Not too sure about the Zimed AD. They have an office in North Wales. But if they have bots trawling around on here, they are certainly very quiet about it.

But what's that Zachy ... how many POMs have you put on the dole so far, then?

Meanwhile, you might find some of this stuff to be of interest.

Back on topic please...

Thanks for the links Geoff. Very interesting stuff. We are in the process of pulling out all our AD's and replacing them with T34's. Some of the reviews make very interesting reading.

Collegues might like to see the latest publication from the NPSA which was release yesterday on the DOH CAS Website.

https://www.cas.dh.gov.uk/ViewandAcknowledgment/ViewAlert.aspx?AlertID=101501

The relevant documentaion can be downloaded