If you have any departmental or Trust news you'd like to share, please get in touch.
- Details
One of the UK’s leading independent medical device sales and service companies has specified Rigel Medical’s range of advanced testers for improved compliance testing.
The move by High Wycombe-based BCAS Bio-medical Services Ltd (BCAS Biomed) has simplified testing procedures as part of its in-service preventative maintenance programme for NHS, emergency and rescue and private healthcare sector customers in the UK and Middle East.
This has seen improvements in the speed and ease by which electrosurgical units (ESU), vital signs monitors, infusion devices and defibrillators among other items of medical equipment are maintained and checked for electrical safety and performance accuracy.
BCAS Biomed, established in 2005, has grown to become a leader in medical device maintenance and currently has a national team of 26 biomed engineers completing more than 1,000 compliance safety tests a week using Rigel instruments.
The 288 automated safety analyser, electrosurgical generator calibrator Uni-Therm, Uni-Pulse defibrillator analyser, Multi-Flo infusion pump analyser and combination vital sign simulator Uni-Sim are among the Rigel products used by BCAS to ensure compliance with manufacturer's recommendations to the appropriate standards including IEC/EN 62353 and IEC/EN 60601.
Managing director of BCAS Biomed Ian Roberts said Rigel Medical met the requirement for high quality, robust and mobile test solutions that were easy-to-carry and use by the engineers.
“Rigel supplies us with a range of high performance, high quality instruments, which provide the engineers with convenient, versatile and accurate on-site testing solutions,” he said.
“Our engineers appreciate the fact that they are compact enough to carry from site-to-site, offering full automation of test procedures and leading to more efficient testing schedules and, ultimately, better standards of customer service and care.
“They incorporate an excellent range of features, while the added value benefits, such as increased connectivity and easy-to-follow instructions, are particularly impressive.
“The fact that they are supplied by a British company is also important. It means that quality is assured and good after sales maintenance and support is always available.”
The Rigel 288 reduces downtime between tests, making the instrument practical and highly portable for multi-site use while the Multi-Flo heads a range of advanced performance analysers, electrical safety analysers and vital signs simulators. Meeting all the requirements of IEC 60601-2-24, Multi-Flo leads the way in high and low flow, occlusion, back pressure and bolus measurement and features variants of one, two and four independent channels.
The Uni-Therm, the easiest way to test all leading electrosurgical devices, the compact UNI-PULSE defibrillator analyser and UNI-SIM, which is capable of undertaking six synchronised vital signs parameter tests simultaneously form part of a comprehensive range of specialist biomedical test equipment from Rigel Medical, part of the Seaward Group. The company is based at Bracken Hill, South West Industrial Estate, Peterlee, County Durham, SR8 2SW. More at www.rigelmedical.com
- Details
Rising Case Cancellations
According to the latest quarterly statistics from the Department of Health, 19,471 NHS elective operations were cancelled on the day due to non-medical reasons - a 19% increase when compared with the same period in 2013(1) - equipment failure is considered one of the common reasons for case cancellations(2)
Take Steps to Reduce Your Equipment Failure Rate
Medtronic's dedicated service team are available to work with hospitals to ensure your equipment is maintained and calibrated each year ensuring best performance and reducing failure rates due to wear and tear. Medtronic also offers an extensive equipment pool enabling hospitals access to a loaner or a refurbished replacement within 24 hours of being notified of an equipment failure
Reduced Budget for New Capital
Five years ago, David Nicholson, ex-NHS Chief Executive stated that "after a decade of investment and reform…the NHS, along with other public services, [was] about to enter perhaps the toughest financial climate it has ever known"(3). Today, these words have more significance than ever and together with the high savings targets in place has lead to a reduction in the funding available for new capital purchases.
How to Make Your Existing Capital Equipment Go Further
Medtronic offers an Exchange Service Programme to support all small capital Medtronic equipment. Medtronic will exchange the broken piece of equipment for a factory certified refurbished replacement. This programme eliminates the need to find budget to purchase replacement equipment or pay repair costs. All repairs and standard part replacements are included free of charge under a standard service agreement. The price of the agreement on a piece of equipment is often less than the cost would be of a single 'pay as you go' repair and the need to find budget for unexpected repairs is avoided.
Tighter Control from Regulatory Bodies
There is an increasing amount of attention being given to the way medical devices are managed and maintained. The 'safety, availability and suitability of equipment' is a key focus of the Care Quality Commission (CQC)(5) and CQC hospital inspections are becoming more extensive with a focus on conducting thorough evidence based assessments.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MRHA) recommends that 'the frequency and type of planned preventative maintenance should be specified, in line with the manufacturer's instructions and taking account of the expected usage and the environment in which it is to be used'(5).
Don't Get Caught Out...Make Sure Your Equipment is in Safe Hands
Medtronic does not distribute detailed maintenance manuals, spare parts and testing equipment, and therefore hospital engineers and third party suppliers may not have the knowledge base and facilities to deliver the very highest quality required for planned service and repair of complex medical equipment.
Medtronic strongly recommends planned maintenance and repairs are undertaken by Medtronic's qualified and skilled service and repair personnel who have been specifically trained for the tasks and have direct access to the spare parts and dedicated test equipment.
By allowing Medtronic to carry out the planned maintenance and repairs it ensures that the equipment liability in respect to these aspects remains with Medtronic and that complete service documentation is available for the hospital.
1. NHS England. (2015). NHS cancelled elective operations, quarter ending 31 December 2014.
Last accessed 18th March 2015.
2. NHS England. (2014). NHS Cancelled Elective Operations.
Last accessed 18th March 2015.
3. David Nicholson. (2009). The Operating Framework for the NHS in England 2010/11.
Available: http://systems.hscic.gov.uk/infogov/links/operatingframework2010-2011.pdf
Last accessed 18th March 2015.
4. Care Quality Commission . (2012). Judgement framework.
Last accessed 18th March 2015.
5. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. (2014). Managing Medical Devices.
Last accessed 18th March 2015.
- Details
Rigel Medical has introduced a new electrical safety and vital signs testing kit promotional package, available exclusively to its UK and Ireland customers.
The company has included its popular 288 automated safety analyser, Uni-Sim and PULS-R - the world’s first all-in-one vital signs simulator – in a special package that will help to deliver faster and safer testing of medical devices and installed equipment in hospitals and healthcare facilities.
The deal, available until 31 March, offers over £2,300 worth of savings on the kit price and includes Rigel Medical’s asset management software, Med-eBase.
The smallest, most compact tester of its type, the 288 provides enhanced performance and faster testing of electrical safety to IEC 62353 and leakage tests in accordance with BS/EN 60601.
Rigel Uni-Sim simulator - capable of undertaking NIBP, SpO2, ECG, temperature, IBP and respiration functionality tests simultaneously - and simulation finger combination provides improved and customised vital signs simulation and measurement.
An IEC 62353 (2015) Guidance Booklet is also included as part of the offer. For details contact +44 (0) 191 587 8730 or visit http://www.rigelmedical.com/
- Details
Leading manufacturer of medical device and equipment testers Rigel Medical has produced a new online video to showcase the advantages of its 288 electrical safety analyser.
The 288 is one of the most recognised electrical safety analysers on the market today and features a lightweight design, earth bond technology and an internal memory to make it a valuable tool for a vast array of test applications.
In a move to improve the support and service Rigel provides to customers, the video explains more about the benefits of this highly versatile analyser and demonstrates how biomed engineers can take advantage of the product’s compactness and portability for comprehensive, high performance in-service testing.
The video is available at www.rigelmedical.com/288
- Details
A new approach to medical device testing in hospitals is available following the launch of an advanced interface developed by Rigel Medical and EQ2.
The move sees the Rigel Medical 288 safety analyser integrated with EQ2's clinical equipment management system HEMS to provide a fully automated, highly accurate and easily portable system for capturing and documenting medical device safety records.
A new module has been incorporated into EQ2's HEMS Enterprise software to make it fully compatible with the automated Rigel analyser.
This module - the EQ2 Rigel SA Interface - enables the biomed engineer to harness the 288's full capabilities to capture valuable information at the point of testing in a hospital or healthcare centre before sending the data automatically to the HEMS system to complete safety checks and link to the medical device's inventory, test library and performance history.
John Backes, Associate Director at Rigel Medical, said the international and domestic hospital markets are key areas of growth and we have partnered with EQ2 to provide an advanced testing solution for this sector.
He added: "EQ2 has simplified the user interface experience while delivering accurate and robust interoperability with the Rigel 288 was a key to our interest in EQ2.
"EQ2 has delivered on their vision with the release of this simple, intuitive interface to our Rigel 288 - a perfect complement to our great safety analysers."
EQ2 is the first Rigel authorised provider of automated CMMS - Rigel interfaces. Vishal Malhotra, EQ2 Director of Development, said: "With this first release, EQ2 and Rigel prove that complex interoperability can be accomplished through good system design to be stunningly simple for the customer to use."
The Rigel 288 features a compact Bluetooth barcode scanner, enabling devices and equipment to be quickly and easily identified, while test results can be stored internally and printed wirelessly to a small battery operated printer. Users also have the facility to select from a range of pre-set test programs or develop their own customised routines.
Rigel Medical is part of the Seaward Group, based at Bracken Hill, South West Industrial Estate, Peterlee, County Durham SR8 2SW, UK. More at www.rigelmedical.com
EQ2, based in Burlington, Vermont, U.S. is global supplier of healthcare and clinical equipment management systems.
