The Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992, together with the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010, make the owners of healthcare practices responsible for ensuring a safe environment for both patients and staff. The only way to be sure that the electrical equipment in your practice is safe to use is to have it routinely tested.

Owners and users of medical electrical equipment need to be aware that under New Zealand law all such devices must be routinely tested for safety.  Failure to do so may result in fines being imposed.

ElectroMedical Testing Service Ltd has been providing electrical safety testing programs to healthcare practices since 1993.  We are well experienced in the requirements for routine inservice testing of medical electrical appliances.

How Our Service Operates

Although we can perform safety testing of medical electrical appliances on a casual basis, most of our customers join our contract safety verification programme. This offers the advantage of a fixed pricing discounted on our casual testing rates, record storage and automatic reminders when retesting is due.

We usually carry out testing work outside your normal practice hours so as to cause minimal disruption to your routine. We are happy to arrange a time that is convenient for you.

The testing procedures we use meet the requirements of the Ministry of Commerce as laid down in Australia/New Zealand Standard AS/NZ3551. For every item of equipment that is tested we provide a test result form for the customer. In addition copies of all test results are stored in our records for a period of four years. This ensures that proof of safety verification is available at any time should it be asked for.

Two or three weeks before retesting is due we will contact your practice to arrange a suitable time for our next visit. This way you can be sure that your safety verification is kept up to date.

It is not our policy to carry out repairs on faulty equipment as this may be seen as a conflict of interest. However, at our discretion, we may repair minor compliance faults at the time of testing.

Why is Safety Testing Required

Electrical appliances are susceptible to wear and tear when in regular use and as a result faults may develop that could be injurious to an operator or patient.  Such faults may not be readily apparent without the use of measuring instruments or a trained eye to identify potential hazards.  Routine safety testing is intended to identify faults and hazards before they cause injury.

Patients in medical care may be more susceptible to the effects of electric shock. They may be unable to move away from the source of the electricity, they may be frail or unwell and they may have lowered skin resistance due to sweating, the application of agents such as ECG or ultrasound gel, or the use of needles and surgical instruments. For this reason medical electrical appliances must meet special mandatory requirements and be regularly tested as laid out in AS/NZS3551.

The Correct Standards

There are two main standards which are used for safety testing of electrical appliances:

• AS/NZS3760 is intended for testing of general electrical appliances (heaters, toasters, photocopiers, etc)

• AS/NZS3551 is intended for testing of medical electrical appliances (defined as appliances used to examine, diagnose, treat or monitor a patient).

AS/NZS3551 is a more rigorous testing regime. It requires that:

• Documentation of full test results is completed and given to the owner.

• Test results show the numerical values measured and what has been tested - not just a pass/fail.

• Where present, patient circuits are tested for safe operation.

• Performance verification is undertaken.

• Tests are undertaken by suitably trained persons

Unfortunately not all companies offering appliance testing services are aware that medical electrical appliances are required to be tested to AS/NZS3551, and too often we find equipment that has been tested to the wrong standard.  If you own and use medical electrical appliances it is important to make sure they are tested to the correct standard.