Personal Sampling

Our personal sampling service is ideal for monitoring the exposure of staff to hazardous chemicals in maternity wards and endoscopy units.

This is because staff are often moving in and out of rooms where Entonox is being administered.

This makes it essential that any monitoring device is attached near the staff’s breathing zone, as static monitoring equipment left in a room will not measure the same exposure levels.

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Why is personal sampling needed?

Nitrous oxide administered for pain relief during childbirth and endoscopy procedures can both present hazards to staff health. For this reason, the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) regulations require hospitals to monitor them and ensure that they remain at safe levels in the work environment.

What’s more, the Controls Assurance Standards are also a key driver in ensuring that hospitals focus on the health and safety of staff in their environment.

How does personal sampling work?

The traditional technique of personal sampling tubes or devices has long been employed for monitoring the exposure of staff to anaesthetic gases.

They are typically used to monitor multiple staff in one room, such labour wards, where peak exposure positions or usage cannot be predicted.

The tubes are worn by staff near to their breathing zone for a known period of time, during normal working practices.

The analysis of the samples allows species concentrations to be calculated for the sampling period. The results can then be compared with the published exposure limits for the chemical.

What does our service include?

As with all Cairn services, our team will work closely with you to ensure the monitoring project is tailored to your requirements. Our personal sampling service consists of:

– The pre-agreed provision of nitrous oxide and/or anaesthetic agent personal sampling tubes to the workplace.

– Detailed instructions for how to use the tubes with additional telephone support, if required.

– Conducting monitoring in the workplace at the optimum time for you.

– Quality in-house analysis following completion of monitoring for rapid feedback.

– A full report detailing all results. This includes interpretation of the findings in comparison with Workplace Exposure Limits (WELs) as well as conclusions and recommendations for further action to be taken where necessary.