Staff must take the lead in preventing cylinders from falling

Last month, I wrote about The Joint Commission’s position on compressed gas cylinders — but wait, there’s more.

When it comes to these cylinders, the bottom line is whether your organization has eliminated the risk of cylinders falling and becoming damaged, or reduced the risk to its lowest potential.

Please remember if your staff moves cylinders in a way that does not eliminate the risk of falling, then it is an exponentially more difficult thing to “sell” during a survey if someone takes exception to your process.

I’m a great believer in the capacity of point-of-service folks doing things you’d much rather they didn’t. You may have to engineer some of that out of the mix by making some equipment changes (e.g., stretchers equipped with “cradles” for securing cylinders). But if you have appropriate restraining equipment already and it’s merely a case of inappropriate practice, then there is a significant risk that it will come up during survey.