BOC Healthcare has installed a pipeline system to deliver Heliox gas to patients’ bedsides at St Peter’s Hospital in Chertsey, Surrey – the UK’s first system of this type.
Heliox is a ready-to-use BOC gas mixture, comprising 79% helium and 21% oxygen, that assists the flow of oxygen into, and carbon dioxide out of, the lungs, thus facilitating breathing for patients with severe airway obstruction caused by conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and bronchiolitis. For the hospital, having the gas supplied from a piped system means the supply is always available, and nurses need no longer change cylinders in the wards. The system has initially been installed in the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU), but an expansion to other areas is now under consideration. The unit treats nearly 500 patients annually, including one or two using Heliox every week. Previously the time spent handling and changing cylinders had limited use of Heliox treatment, as the unit’s head, Dr Ian White, explained: “Having Heliox piped to the bedside means we can treat more patients on a weekly basis, with greater security and better staff safety.” For Lyndon Saul, BOC Healthcare’s engineering services manager, the piped supply at St Peter’s represents a joint solution to a challenge. “This is the first time we have provided Heliox in this way,” he explained. “The hospital identified a limitation to the delivery of certain treatments within the ICU and, together, BOC and St Peter’s developed a solution. We believe this system may have wider application across the UK hospital sector, and have therefore developed a bespoke range of cylinder, NIST and outlet connections.” BOC Healthcare The Priestley Centre Surrey Research Park Guildford GU2 7XY Tel: 01483 244023 Fax: 01483 244916 Email: lyndon.saul@boc.com www.bochealthcare.co.uk
