EBME Forums Forums Management Medical Equipment Management Equipment that uses water policy

Has anybody ever produced a policy around medical equipment that uses water - specifically the cleaning of it, repair processes and acquiring new equipment?

Does anybody keep a separate list of equipment that uses water or highlight it in some way on their database?

It's not something I've ever done but from an infection control point of view is looking like a requirement.

If anybody has already been down this road I would appreciate the sharing of your knowledge.

Here's a start:- HTM 04-01 (A) and HTM 04-01 (B).

Hi Glyn....i am very interested in this thread as i have recently asked for there to be a separate field on our database to identify kit that uses water. i have to present to the water audit team yearly on things such as incubators ,pressure infusors, humidifiers, under warmers etc even though the water side of these are usually dealt with by the clinical side. I was asked the question, do we include things such as the RO unit? Do you include these? thanks in advance for any comments

If you have control of your own database (which may be a bit of an assumption in some cases) then the addition of a single field (especially a simple logical yes/no flag) should be straightforward. But ... will that be enough?

If sensible use is to be made of the data, then surely more statements shall be required. For instance (and off the top of my head):-

1) Uses water internally (eg:- neonatal incubators, humidifiers).
2) Connected to cold water supply.
3) ditto hot water.
4) ditto treated water.
5) Drain considerations.

Surely it is better to look at the water issue from the "other end": asking the question "do your PM procedures take into account tasks such as":-

1) Cleanliness of water containers (cleaning out humidifiers etc.)
2) Cleaning filters.
3) Regular checks of water quality ... surely an "Estates" task?

Also, don't forget the various items in the clinical labs: water baths, and stills, come to mind.

PS: does your database make similar provision for PMG ... O2, MA4, Vac etc.? What about Steam, LPG and what-have-you? Again, what about "Estates" (or, if you like, "Facilities Engineering")? Or have "demarcation wars" now become a thing of the past?

A good question. Are you thinking about dialysis units? Again, doesn't Estates take care of the water treatment side of things there?

As an aside, I have been in places (overseas, long ago) where us biomeds looked after the water treatment side of things as well as the dialysis machines themselves. I must say I preferred that, as at least we (that is, I) knew things were being looked after properly. Hopefully things are a bit different in the UK.