Anaesthetic Equipment Servicing.

The Flowmeter Is it functioning correctly? Are the set flows being delivered to the patients? The backbar assembly Is it leaking - allowing gases to escape into the room?   The pressure regulators Are they set to the correct outlet pressure? Is the pressure building up to a dangerous level? Do they leak - wasting gas and creating a fire hazard and health risk?		The pressure relief valve Is it operating at the correct pressure or is there a danger of overpressuring the circuit - causing harm to the patient? Emergency oxygen control Is it leaking, causing a dilution of fresh gas. The Vaporiser Is it functioning correctly? Is expensive volatile agent being wasted? Obsolete Parts Do they need removing?
The gas delivery system of an anaesthetic machine operates at an initial pressure of 2000 psi (133 times normal atmospheric pressure) reducing down to near ambient pressure at use. A poorly maintained anaesthetic machine will waste medical gases and expensive volatile agent everytime you use it! Burtons can provide an affordable, planned preventative maintenance contract that will ensure your anaesthetic apparatus is consistently reliable and maintained to the highest standards of safety. F.A.Q.'s Q. How often should an anaesthetic machine be serviced? A. This will depend on its amount of use, age and condition. Our service contracts provide two visits per year which in our experience offers the best balance of cost and reliability. Q. How often should my vaporiser be serviced. A. That really depends on the amount you use it. Most manufacturers would like you to have a vaporiser serviced once per year but then most vaporisers and their maintenance regimes are designed to comply with the requirements of the human medical field. In a typical veterinary environment a vaporiser is serviced once every 3 to 5 years. An isoflurane vaporiser should need fewer service intervals than a halothane equivalent since it does not contain a preservative that will eventually effect its output. During the service of your anaesthetic machine our engineer will check the performance of your vaporiser within the cost of the service, for any extra vaporisers there is a small additional charge. If it is found that the vaporiser is not giving the correct output you will be advised by the engineer, who will probably recommend that it is service exchanged. Q.Why service exchange my vaporiser - can't you fix it at the practice.? A. Only very minor faults with a vaporiser can be rectified "in the field". Faults related to high or low volatile agent output require the vaporiser to be dismantled, this would inevitably lead to volatile agent evaporating into your work place. When a vaporiser is serviced, internal components are replaced and once reassembled recalibration takes place using a highly sensitive gas analyser in a controlled environment. If you need a vaporiser replaced, you need it now! Service exchange means we fit a factory serviced replacement vaporiser there and then, eliminating a costly delay whilst your existing vaporiser is serviced and then returned to you. If you have a quick release style vaporiser or do not require an engineer to fit the replacement, we will despatch it to you. Once you've replaced the vaporiser simply utilise the packaging, contact us and we will arrange for the old vaporiser to be collected. Q. What certification do I recieve? A. We provide a service certificate at each visit which should be kept as documentry evidence of proper maintenance. You may be required during a routine health & safety visit to provide this for inspection. Q. How much is it going to cost? A. The cost of replacement parts will vary for different makes and models. What we can control is the labour cost, that's why our service contract has a set labour charge with spare parts charged for when needed. A typical twin gas anaesthetic machine will cost as little as £70.55 + parts per service visit with no additional call out charge! Labour charges are reviewed on an annual basis. Q. Can you service every type of anaesthetic machine? A. No - there are many different makes and models of anaesthetic machine that we are able to support but some machines are so old that spare parts are simply not available. If we feel we cannot provide a satisfactory level of support because of the difficulty in obtaining parts and technical backup from manufacturers, we will decline to offer a service contract. If you are considering taking out a maintenance agreement with us we will be pleased to arrange to visit your practice to assess your machines and discuss your requirements in detail. Q.What is the term of a service contract? A. There is no time limit, the contract will run for as long as you wish. If you would like to cancel your contract all we ask is that you provide us with written confirmation and at least 1 weeks notice.