Oxygen is a medicine and should be prescribed unless being administered in an emergency.

We are seeing incidents reported where patients fail to receive the oxygen intended; with oxygen cylinders not turned on correctly, the cylinders not having sufficient oxygen for the transfer or patients not transferred back to piped oxygen in a timely manner.

Medical Device Training on oxygen is to be completed every three years by colleagues who administer oxygen. It includes good practice and risks with oxygen therapy.

Is your medical device training on oxygen up to date?

Good practice tips

• Refer to the Transfer Policy. Only appropriately trained staff must transfer patients using oxygen.
• Always use a transfer bracket with a bed.
• Ensure the cylinder is turned on correctly at both the black handwheel and the flow dial selector.
• The Registered Nurse/Midwife/ODP must check the cylinder contains sufficient oxygen for the transfer.
• Ensure the patient is returned back to the piped supply after transfer

More information can be found on the intranet: Medical Gases including Oxygen Therapy - CHFT Intranet (cht.nhs.uk)