EBME Forums Forums Maintenance Spare Parts CME T34 Internal Battery

I despair, a cmos support battery that you can buy for a pound everywhere else. Common sense tells you it is nothing special, the OEM supply them without even a date code, let alone any form of lot code . Some things are so obvious, but still there are those who bind themselves slavishly to the "rules", or should I say their interpretation of the rules.
I will continue to be a rebel, because free thought and a desire to see through the facade that some regulations appear to give.

Embracing the change in BioMed engineering and becoming an extension of the OEM into the NHS is not for me. I will be there to challenge the line" the manufacturer knows best" and " you are the only one seeing this problem" if we do not question their monopoly on these devices then we leave ourselves at their mercy. Unlike MikeX I do not have the luxury of deciding what is purchased, I just have to keep on fixing it, keep on applying the field safety notices, react to the device alerts and try and make the budget work at the end of the year, and keep the patient safe in the process.

What about third-party BP cuffs?
Does ANYONE buy OEM?

Third party BP cuff are widely used within the NHS to no detriment to the patient resulting in cost savings and also forcing the OEM to compete at a more acceptable cost. Here we have people seeking to hide behind the rule book and default to OEM parts. Why not risk assess and try the parts in a controlled way?

Does ANYONE buy OEM?

The "rule book" (standards and regulations) is there to protect everyone, including the patients and those supplying and maintaining medical devices. If someone decides they don't want to buy OEM parts, then they are accepting responsibility to meet the required standards and regulations. The OEM would no longer be responsible for failures of the device, as that has would have fallen to the person (or organisation) making the modification.

So feel free to fit non-OEM parts but understand your liabilities!

Fitting non OEM parts as long as risk assessed is fine, I have fitted many 3rd party batteries to ECG recorders as we assessed the risk as minimal however that is not the case with transport ventilators where the OEM is used.

Wouldn't it be nice if all batteries were of a standard size/shape for medical equipment along the lines of AA & AAA irrelevant of which manufacturer or equipment the batteries were being used with.Image the storage space you would save in the workshops if you did not have to store all the different batteries that are available today.

Best cuffs to buy are Welch Allyn (Flexi Port), adaptable to all medical equipment.

I'm with Billy on this, non OEM is fine in non life support devices but OEM only on things like defibs, vents and IABPs