Antrim Area Hospital, Antrim - 09 October 2012 - Regulation and ...

9.0 Patient Equipment
STANDARD 5.0
PATIENT EQUIPMENT
Cleanliness and state of repair of general patient equipment.
Patient equipment
C1 A3 C4 C5
Patient equipment 86 88 97 85
All wards were compliant for this standard, patient equipment was
generally of a good standard and most equipment was visibly clean.
Full compliance would have been achieved in Ward C4 had the low
frame work of the resuscitation trolley been dust free. With the
exception of Ward C4, trigger tape used to denote equipment, including
commodes, had been cleaned and ready to use, was inconsistently
used.
Some equipment was worn or damaged such as IV stands in Wards
C1 and C5, the notes trolley and underside of the commode lids in
Ward C5 and the frame of the hoist, wheel chair footplate and ice
machine grill in Ward C1. Commodes in Ward A3 did not have a lid as
they had been damaged; the inspectors were informed that new
commodes were on order.
In Ward C5 more attention to detail is required when cleaning fans, the
legs and wheels of the procedure trolleys and the top surface of the
resuscitation trolley. In Wards C5 and C1 single use jugs were being
re-used, in Ward C1 adhesive tape was used to fix labels to the notes
and linen trolleys and nursing staff did not know the symbol for single
use equipment.
Additional Issues
Ward C1
In a drawer of the resuscitation trolley, inspectors observed a
10ml syringe stored out of packaging with the plunger withdrawn
to the 10ml line (Picture 4). The ward manager advised this was
for the insertion of air into a cuffed endotracheal tube.
This practice allows for potential contamination and lack of
traceability issues. The ward manager removed the exposed
syringe immediately.
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