SAFETY
initiative to prioritise high-quality healthcare and enhance the accessibility of health services. This year marks a significant milestone as BEC Engineering Sdn Bhd gained entry into the public sector with an extra view of the Central Monitoring IPS System via cloud feature. Initially, only private hospitals procured medical IPS systems with particular functions for monitoring purposes. Still, this shift towards inclusion in public healthcare signifies a huge step forward in ensuring regional comprehensive electrical safety.
The United Kingdom and Ireland In the UK and Ireland, electrical safety in ORs continues to improve, but there are still hospitals with old, non-compliant infrastructure. New private hospitals, state hospitals, new schemes, and refurbishments will likely always try to be compliant and will invest in monitoring. We received an overview from Mr Gary
Mcilvain from KVA Power Installations Ltd, who specialises in uninterruptible power supply standby generators and has over 20 years of experience in UK hospitals. Remarkably, our experiences with partners across different regions have mirrored this pattern. Upon installing advanced Medical IT systems in hospitals, stakeholders invariably appreciate the profound significance of these solutions. They begin to grasp the importance of receiving early warnings before potentially hazardous situations arise.
An example from India We received the Indian overview from our partner, Mr Ranjit D Deshmukh, from M/s HonorAi Pvt. Ltd., an experienced system integrator in Pune, Maharashtra. The COVID-19 pandemic put significant
pressure on the Indian healthcare system, particularly in Group 2 locations. Infrastructure faced severe strain, and many facilities failed, resulting in casualties due to hazards such as equipment failures and fires, mainly caused by short circuits. These are incurred because old cables have lost their insulating ability and are overloaded due to the increasing number of devices. Many questions have been raised by the public and media about the failure of critical infrastructure in hospitals. The Indian government set out to implement improvements to the level of healthcare, introducing various healthcare-related legislation and regulations. A regulatory update in September 2021 (IS 17512:2021) provided for adopting insulation
Outlet with broken PE wire
monitoring systems (IMS) according to IEC 61557-8 in Indian hospitals in the private and public sectors. However, despite these reforms, it will
be necessary to educate hospital building consultants, contractors and the hospital engineering sector in general. A few hospitals use a conventional insulation monitoring system with a medical isolation transformer.
Critical issues in India Training staff is a critical issue in preventing hazards. Safety training programs are primarily organised by large corporations, major government hospitals, and trusts, often in collaboration with external consultants. Unfortunately, many others do not show the same level of commitment to safety measures. Other important issues are a lack of
preventative and scheduled maintenance and interest from management. In addition, many other critical factors
are slowing the introduction of new advanced safety solutions: a diversity of attitudes, cultural factors, lack of compliance with safety norms, laxity in surveillance and control, the apathy of top management and a reliance on unskilled and short-term workers. Insulation monitoring would help to transmit the alarms to permanent skilled staff who could react immediately to the problem.
Group 2 are the most critical facilities where medical devices are used for heart-related functions 70
Small steps forward The field of healthcare technology is constantly evolving, and large-scale hospitals are often eager to adopt new technologies that enhance patient care and safety. The critical issues are efficiency, ease of implementation and cost-effectiveness. The private sector in India has
generally been quicker to adopt new technologies due to more significant financial resources and autonomy. They want to benefit from safety, reliability, and operational efficiency. In contrast, public sector hospitals often have budget constraints and may require more time to allocate resources for new technologies. India is a popular destination for
medical tourism, with hospitals offering high-quality healthcare services at competitive prices. Healthcare tourists greatly value hospitals that follow European safety norms where insulation monitoring is mandatory. India is an excellent example of what kind of situation many other countries are currently in. Development is happening slowly.
The ideal safety state in the group’s Group 2 premises Proper guidance and investment in training are beneficial for the usability and efficiency of the new technology equipment. When the
staff understand the operation of the equipment at a sufficient level, the best possible result is obtained. Regular training provides the necessary skills and knowledge and the ability to use electronic medical devices safely. The
IFHE DIGEST 2024
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