BPR Medical has welcomed the US Veterans Health Administration (VA) decision to mandate the use of thermal fuses – also known as firebreaks – in all its home oxygen (O2) patient installations.
The VA published a Patient Safety Alert on the 8th May requiring thermal fuses – which can prevent patient deaths and limit injuries in the event of an O2 fire – to be installed on every stationary and portable O2 system used by its 85,000 home O2 patients. The change is being phased in over the next six months, with home O2 installers’ contracts being amended to reflect the new requirement.
As a result of the VA’s Patient Safety Alert, all the 21 regional Veterans Integrated Service Network organisations (VISNs), which oversee healthcare for veterans, will also be required to formally report fires involving home O2.
There are no accurate figures for the number of fires involving home O2 in the US, however a report in 2017 by the National Fire Protection Association(NFPA) recorded a likely annual death rate of 70 people (based on figures between 2011 and 2015), equivalent to one in 20 home fire deaths. The NFPA also states that there is an average of 1,190 burns each year due to home O2 fires, although it describes these statistics as ‘likely underestimates’.
... to continue reading you must be subscribed
