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Take a good PEEP at your ECG…

ECGs have become commonplace within GP surgeries and care homes over the last few years, as PCTs have pushed this diagnostic work into the community.  While basic training is provided, medical equipment testing company JPen Medical has identified a lack of technical support in the marketplace, which is leading some ECG machines to give readings which are false or of poor quality, or give no readings at all.

JPen Medical tests and calibrates over 1,000 ECG machines per year and, as part of its service, deals with customer enquiries by ‘phone every day – including queries about ECGs.  JPen has found that approximately three quarters of these queries can be resolved immediately over the ‘phone, avoiding unnecessary down-time and the added expense of calling out an engineer.

The following ‘PEPE’ guide has been compiled by JPen Medical to provide a quick check-list for ECG users, and help them address the majority of these issues:

Patients

1. Make sure that the patient is comfortable.   Patients that shiver through cold or nerves will give false readings.
2. Make sure that the pads have good contact with the skin. Hair and sweat will get in the way, so hair should be shaved off and skin should be wiped to ensure good contact.

Environment

1. Make sure all mobile phones are switched off.  In the same way that your telephone sometimes picks up a mobile phone’s warble when it‘s too close, an ECG will do the same and give a false reading.
2. Keep the ECG machine away from other electronic equipment.  Placing the unit near to a fridge or transformer, for example, will create a false reading. 

Equipment

1. Make sure that the lead connection pins inserted in to the ECG machine are not bent and fit snugly into the socket.
2. Make sure that the leads haven’t been trapped or worn. To do this:
3. Visually inspect the cable to make sure there are no breaks
4. Straighten the cable and see whether there are any indentations along its length (if so, the cable could be broken inside).
5. Store the leads as a large coil.  Ideally use a dedicated trolley with an arm to keep them safe
6. Make sure that you have inserted the correct paper, the right way up.  ECG machines are set up to read optical markers on the edge of the paper (usually a black line or box).  These will not be recognised if the wrong paper is inserted, or the paper is inserted upside down, and this will cause the machine not to work
7. Make sure the machine is tested and calibrated each year in line with MHRA guidelines to ensure accurate readings.

Pads

1. Check the use-by date and condition of the pads.  Out of date pads and pads stored in unsuitable conditions (e.g. next to a radiator) usually fail.

2. Make sure tab packets are opened and re-sealed carefully.  Exposure to the atmosphere quickly leads to deterioration of pad gel.

Customer
Comments

I'm over the moon and you can quote me on that!" said Diane at a Medical Centre.

"I'm delighted with the service and the engineer was great, so patient!"