After doing some initial research into Biomedical Testing, we discovered some anomalies within the Patient Protected Area AS/NZS 3003 Standard out in the field, these concerns where verified during our resent Biomedical Electrical Safety Training Course.
Part of this requires your local GP, Dentist and Physiotherapist to name a few, need to have their treatment/ consulting rooms compliant to AS/ NZS 3003 Patient/ Cardiac Protected Areas and all Medical and Non-Medical equipment tested and tagged to AS/ NZS 3551 and AS/ NZS 3760, Medical equipment must be inspected, tested and serviced in accordance with the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 Act.
Patient Protected Areas is defined as “ALL areas where it is intended that medical electrical equipment will be used on patients MUST be either BF – Body-Protected or CF Cardiac-Protected (2012, 2018) - and a Patient as “a Person undergoing medical or dental investigation or treatment (NOTE: A person undergoing a cosmetic medical procedure is considered a patient.)
These Patient Areas include:
Accident and emergency wards.
Allied health care providers, e.g. chiropractic, physiotherapy, optometry and
Naturopathic.
Anaesthetic bays.
Audiometry rooms.
Blood collection areas.
Day procedure theatres.
Delivery suites.
Dental surgeries.
Dermatology rooms.
Doctors consulting rooms.
Endoscopy theatres and procedure rooms.
General medical and surgical wards.
High dependency wards.
Imaging rooms.
Nurseries.
Operating theatres intended for non-cardiac surgery.
Patient examination rooms for outpatients.
Plasmapherisis areas.
Plaster rooms.
Recovery areas or wards associated with operating theatres and imaging rooms.
Respiratory function laboratories.
Resuscitation bays.
Stress test rooms.
Treatment rooms.
Ultrasound rooms.
NOTE: Ensuites, bathrooms, shower rooms and toilets intended for patient use shall be wired as body-protected electrical areas.
A Cardiac Protected Room includes
Cardiac catheter laboratories.
Cardiac ICU.
ICU with regular thermodilution Swann-Ganz monitoring.
Neo natal ICU.
Operating theatres for cardiac surgery.
CCU.
NOTE: In NZ, guidance on the classification of medical procedures enabling the decisions made by the responsible organization in determining patient areas may be found in AS/NZS 2500.
If the bed is fixed then only medical and other non-medical equipment within a 1.5 meters circumference (or is within 3.5 meters reach of the bed or chair) needs to be tested to AS/NZS 3551, and non-medical equipment outside the location of the bed or chair can be tested to AS/ NZS 3760.
NOTE: if the bed or chair is movable then all equipment needs to be tested to the high AS/NZS 3551 Standard. (this includes lamps, jugs computers etc.)
Yes…. I know my head hurt while I was on the course, but give us a call and we can guide you through this requirement.
A special thanks to Dani Foster from The Medical Room