MEDICAL GAS SYSTEMS
2002, when he was working for Beacon Medæs, the MES owner is particularly pleased to now be able to offer both off- site ‘hands-on’ training for Authorised and Competent Persons, and the company’s ‘regular on-site training’. On 6 June this year, Alan Spraggon, chair of IHEEM’s North-East branch, officially opened the new medical gas training centre in Durham, with the location chosen both due to the city’s easy accessibility by train and road, and because while the south of England is already well served by medical gas training providers, such provision is considerably scarcer in northern England and Scotland. If the new training facility proves the success Richard Maycock anticipates, he says he may look at opening a second in southern England.
A background in training A highly experienced AE (MGPS), and IHEEM Incorporated Engineer, with an HNC and an HND in Mechanical and Production Engineering, Richard Maycock explained that he gained considerable training experience while at Ohmeda, Medæs, and BOC, undertaking a range of medical gas pipeline-related duties for these firms. He said: “I originally joined what was then BOC Ohmeda, but later became Hill-Rom Medæs, as a project engineer in 1994, to design MGPS equipment. Part of that role included training third-party contractors, overseas distributors, end-users, and service engineers, on the use and maintenance of medical gas pipeline systems. This included training both healthcare engineers, and senior clinical and nursing staff who needed to understand the workings and key functions of a hospital medical gas pipeline system to ensure safe patient care.”
Varying depth and duration Today, alongside offering a range of medical gas pipeline related services – namely Authorising Engineer (MGPS), compliance audit and risk assessment, system design, ‘As-fitted’, schematic, and isometric drawings with flow rate and pressure drop calculations, specification, and advice and practical help with cylinder storage and optimisation – Medical Engineering Systems offers training of varying depth and duration. Its training portfolio includes EAL-accredited comprehensive and refresher Authorised Person courses and Competent Persons Installation and Maintenance training, Designated Nursing Officer courses for senior nursing staff, Medical & Lab Gas Safety training for porters, nurses, and technicians, and MGPS familiarisation training for staff requiring additional knowledge of medical gas pipeline systems. The company also offers Responsible Person training aimed at small healthcare sites with piped medical
44 Health Estate Journal August 2019
A prototype MCS2 liquid oxygen panel – designed by Richard Maycock in the mid- 1990s – in a -30 °C freezer unit with 10 mm of ice formation. The system remained in production until 2016, ‘with a few tweaks’.
gas systems but no on-site Authorised Person (MGPS), to accompany remote AP services and Competent Persons for healthcare site-based staff looking to provide a first line of defence before calling in the specialist contractor, who may become a future Authorised Person (MGPS).
Ward-level responsibility
Richard Maycock explained the role of the DNO, with whom the AP (MGPS) liaises on any matters affecting the medical gas system. He said: “At ward level, the senior nurse manager in a typical acute hospital will have jurisdiction over most MGPS work, including all planned and emergency local work in normal working hours, while in the event of a planned interruption involving more than one ward, the DNO will be consulted, and will liaise with other clinical staff as required.” With some of its courses comprising two ‘four-and-a-half-day blocks’, MES will also happily arrange local
accommodation for delegates as part of the ‘package’. Richard Maycock’s own
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While the south of England is already well served by medical gas training providers, such provision is considerably scarcer in northern England and Scotland
professional background – he has always loved engineering, and rapidly realised he had found a suitable niche for his skills when he first tested a medical gas pipeline system with Ohmeda – goes a long way to explaining his enthusiasm for the specialist discipline, and his conviction that MES has a bright future ahead. By way of his own career background, he explained that, having left school aged 15, he undertook a four-year toolmaker’s apprenticeship in injection-moulded press toolmaking at Morphy Richards – the famous manufacturer of household goods such as irons and toasters – at its Mexborough factory near Rotherham, simultaneously studying at Doncaster College for his HND. On leaving Morphy Richards in his early 20s, having gained CNC machining skills, he next worked as a product designer for a small independent artificial prosthesis manufacturer in Rotherham, Customflex. He explained: “We produced the artificial hips and knees from titanium, and, being keen to develop my product design expertise, I really enjoyed the work. We took patient X-rays from local hospitals and designed prostheses to fit; for example, if somebody had been in a motorbike accident and badly damaged their leg, we would design and manufacture replacement knee joints and prosthetic leg parts. Customflex worked closely with surgeons at Doncaster Royal Infirmary. The role brought me into contact with healthcare for the first time.”
First foray into medical gases He went on to explain how he entered the medical gas arena: “Someone sent me a copy of an advertisement for a design
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