Health Care Equipment, Materials and Records
Domain 8: Health Care Equipment, Materials and Records. The exam tests equipment categories and basic checks, cleaning versus disinfection versus sterilisation, stock control, and correct clinical documentation.
Equipment groups
Diagnostic – stethoscope, sphygmomanometer, thermometer, pulse oximeter, glucometer, weighing scale. Therapeutic – oxygen cylinder with flowmeter, nebuliser, suction machine, infusion set, heating pad. Assistive – wheelchair, walker, crutches, commode. Check before every use: clean, undamaged, calibrated and in date; report faults and label the item out of order.
Cleaning, disinfection, sterilisation
Cleaning removes soil; disinfection kills most micro-organisms on surfaces; sterilisation destroys all organisms including spores. An autoclave uses steam at 121 °C and 15 psi for 15–20 minutes. Store sterile packs in a dry closed cupboard and check the indicator strip and expiry date.
Stock and inventory
Follow FEFO – first expiry, first out. Keep a stock register with date, batch, quantity and signature; reorder at the minimum level; record breakages and condemn unserviceable items through the proper committee.
Records and documentation
Write in blue or black ink, legibly, with date, time, name and signature. Use the patient's own words for complaints. Correct an error with a single line, the correct entry, your initials and the date - never overwrite, erase or tear the page. Maintain the admission and discharge register, vital signs chart, intake–output chart, consent forms and incident reports; keep them confidential and retain them as institutional and statutory policy requires.
Worked example
A pulse of 88 is wrongly entered as 98. Reasoning: draw one line through 98 so it stays readable, write 88, add initials and time, and note the correction. Overwriting would make the record look altered.
Traps
- Using pencil or correcting fluid on a clinical record.
- Signing for a colleague or leaving charts blank.
- Using an expired or uncalibrated glucometer and trusting the reading.