Surgical Care at the District Hospital
Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 Primary Trauma Care Manual
Resusciation and Anaesthesia
Resuscitation and Preparation for Anaesthesia and Surgery
Management of emergencies and cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Other conditions requiring urgent attention
Intravenous access
Fluids and drugs
Drugs and resuscitation
Preoperative assessment and investigations
Anaesthetic issues in the emergency situation
Important medical conditions for the anaesthetist
Practical Anaesthesia
General anaesthesia
Anaesthesia during pregnancy and for operative delivery
Pediatric anaesthesia
Conduction anaesthesia
Specimen anaesthetic techniques
Monitoring the anaesthetized patient
Postoperative management
Anaesthetic infrastructure and supplies
Equipment and supplies for different level hospitals
Anaesthesia and oxygen
Fires, explosions and other risks
Care and maintenance of equipment
Care and Maintenance of Equipment
 




The important principles of care and maintenance are:

:: The anaesthetist working alone in a small hospital must understand and take responsibility for the upkeep of apparatus as well as for the care of patients
:: All equipment requires regular inspection, maintenance and repair to prevent it from rapidly deteriorating and becoming dangerous
:: Make a detailed list or inventory of the equipment you have to enable you to identify any extra items needed
:: As well as basic equipment, list spare parts, batteries and other consumables that will be needed and find out in advance how you can obtain them
:: Try to estimate when new parts will be required and order spares well in advance, before the machine breaks down and leaves you in difficulty
  Ensure that all types of apparatus are kept in a clean and dust-free environment, away from extremes of temperature and covered when not in use
  Ensure that vaporizers are drained of anaesthetic if they are unlikely to be used for a week or more
  Put a cork or spigot in the end of any gas port or tubing during storage to prevent the entry of insects.


A detailed description of the types of anaesthetic equipment likely to be found in a district hospital appears in Anaesthesia at the District Hospital (WHO, 2001).

For technical advice about simple maintenance, see Maintenance and Repair of Laboratory, Diagnostic Imaging and Hospital Equipment (WHO, 1994) and Care and Safe Use of Hospital Equipment (Skeet and Fear, VSO Publications).



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