Oxygen

[deleted697535]

Looking at cost reduction in my new place. We have about 60 ORs across 3 sites each with an anesthetic machine.

The default flow rate is 100% o2 at 10lpm. I don't know how many times I've walked into an empty or with the machine running at 10litres

So I'm looking at getting the default set to air at 0.5 litres. We did the same at my last place and saved a lot of cash over a year without any incidents.

Problem is how do I get some proof about how much we are wasting here. I was thinking about just randomly walking around during the day and checking, or maybe I could send out a survey to staff to ask them how many times per week and for long the see oxygen being used up while not connected to a patient...

Any better ideas about how I can get proof of this waste on paper?

Also anyone know the cost of o2 per litre from the VIE?

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[Ronin786]

Why do you need any data to prove that 0.5 liter is less wasteful than 10L?

 

[teeva]

Send out a memo. Tell your dumb colleagues or CRNAs to use minimal fresh flows and to shut off the flow prior to leaving the room. Or train the clean up crew to turn off the flows. All our machines beep like crazy when there’s gas flow and apnea or no CO2.

 

[AdmiralChz]

Also anyone know the cost of o2 per litre from the VIE?

It’ll be institution dependent. Ask up the supply chain and maybe you’ll get an answer.

But this is a no brainer, as others have said. Turn off your flows when you’re out of the room and there’s really no need to run 10L O2 the entire case - induction and emergence is fine, definitely not during maintenance.

 

[nimbus]

It reduces fire risk too if you turn off the oxygen.

 

[Gern Blansten]

My hospital did a study and found that, universally, the last drug given to a patient prior to their death was oxygen. Therefore, the suits upstairs demanded that we eliminate or, at the very least, get special permission before using such a dangerous substance as oxygen.

 

[deleted697535]

I understand what you guys mean about educating ppl. We try and fail.

What I am talking about is changing the default on every machine start up process to 0.5 litres.

To do this I might need to show the staff some metric about how much o2 is wasted

That's why I'm trying to guage this somehow

 

[pgg]

I can't tell you how much O2 is wasted at your hospital. You'd have to look and estimate it.

But why 0.5 LPM of air and not 0.5 LPM of oxygen?

I've never asked but I don't believe "air" is any less expensive than oxygen. The equipment and infrastructure to "make" it isn't cheap. Dehumidified, particulate filtered, carbon filtered air processed by medical grade oil-less compressors, tested for CO and other gaseous contaminants ... vs a big tanker truck of LOX unloading at the hospital.