The usual meaning of medical equipment is any device which is used to render the patient some care and relief. These equipments are maintained, tracked and also inventoried by none other than the Department Of Clinical Engineering. There is some specific equipment that are maintained by the clinical engineering and some which are not maintained by these. Let us now classify them into different categories below. Some of the equipments that are positively included are as follows:
- Lasers
- Infusion pumps
- EKG machines
- Hypothermia machines
- Pulse oxi-meters
- Anaesthesia machines
- Ultrasound machines
- Electrosurgical units
- X-ray machines
- Blood pressure monitors
- Ventilators
- Sterilizers
- Patient monitors at bedside
- Defibrillators
On the other hand the medical equipment which is not included is mentioned below:
- Patient beds
- Wheelchairs
- Office machines
- Blood pressure machines containing mercury i.e. non-electrical
- Some repair equipments are like the beds, stretchers and also tables
The first question that may arise to the patients and their family is that whether the medical equipment is safe or not? Then the answer is a big “Yes”. The reason behind this is that all the medical equipment is tagged with a barcode sticker only when its safety is properly checked and this tagging is done by the Clinical Engineering. The maintenance also involves functional checks and inspections which is very important. If any parts are found faulty then the manufacturer requires replacing that fault immediate or as fast as possible.
On the other hand there are certain items which require no sort of maintenance at all. In those items only a safety check is done and at the time of its first installation. The items may include scales, thermometers and many other items.
