All The DRAFT for the revised 3551 as released for public comment yesterday.
It can be found on the Standards Australia website at www.standards.org.au - the link to drafts for comment is on the left hand margin. Accessing the draft requires creatino of a login, but that is only an email and a password, and downloads of the draft are FREE. Look for DR 10023. Over the next few weeks, the College of Biomedical Engineering will be running consultation workshops in each state to encourage comment while there is still time to make changes - watch for advice from State Division Rep's. All are welcome. Dates are Brisbane 28 June Sydney 1 July Melbourne 5 July Adelaide 8 July Perth July 12 (tentative) Regards Michael Flood Chairman, College of Biomedical Engineering Engineers Australia "Bruce Morrison" <[email protected]> 17/06/2010 14:13 Please respond to <[email protected]> To <[email protected]> cc Subject [bmelist] AS3551 Testing versus Manufacturer Service Recommendations Hi Owen I would like to hope that we could have "profession endorsed" procedures for all types of devices but fear that the profession will be extinct before it happens. We have had several attempts, beginning with the recommended parameters to test in the back of the original 1986 (was it '86?) AS-3551. We have talked about risk management and had attempts to have dialogue with ACHS and Work Cover in some states but still no agreement. It seems to me that a measure of the success of the College of BME, the SMBEs and the BEAGs around the country would be that we have achieved this - but we haven't so therefore we haven't been successful in this area. I think we need to divorce the risk management argument from the test/inspect/PM argument and leave the decision on whether to test, inspect or PM to individual health facilities, regions, states, etc. We should define the parameters but only in a broad way - pretty much like we did in the original AS-3551 but expanded to other types of equipment including pneumatic equipment. So, for example, we would say that a manual sphygmomanometer (aneroid) needs to have a physical inspection, and its accuracy and leak rate checked - how you do it and with what test equipment would be up to the individual service. How often could be subject to suggestions based on such things as the frequency of use, the wear and tear it receives from driving around in an ambulance (particularly on rough country roads or in countries where the term road is more of a hope than a reality), the criticality of the measurement, fluid or energy delivery, etc. So if the aneroid sphygmomanometer sits in a dermatology OPD Clinic consulting room and doesn't move too much and doesn't get used much and maybe the results from taking of BPs on patients with skin problems is less critical than in the Cardiology Clinic next door, then maybe don't check it so often. So what I'm saying is develop a professional guideline as to how to determine these things and leave it to the individual to do it or not. Note - I'm not saying risk management - basically because I don't like the term. Also, none of this is new but I thought I would say it again! As for the O2 and air flowmeters, we have them tested every year by an outside provider and I think we find many more leaking than being inaccurate, and in the case of the O2 flowmeters, I guess that saves us money on the purchase of oxygen. Cheers Bruce. Bruce Morrison Medical Equipment Specialist Ministerio da Saude Timor-Leste Phone: +670 753 2189 To unsubscribe from the bmelist, send a blank email from the subscribed address to [email protected] ******************************************************************************* "Important: This transmission is intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain confidential or legally privileged information and has been sent in accordance with the TGA security policy. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any use or dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you receive this transmission in error please notify the author Immediately and delete all copies of this transmission." ********************************************************************************
