Quality of electrical mains supplies in hospitals : implications for microprocessor-controlled medical equipment

Electrical mains problems can cause disruption to work, loss of efficiency and even risk to life. Because they are expensive to diagnose and rectify it is important to consider such problems at the planning stage. The supply of a hospital should be realistically specified to predict the projected loads. Additional facilities should take full account of the load capacity, and cost considerations should not be allowed to impair quality. In the case of costly or critical installations, a site survey should be considered at the time of specification to determine the need for work on the supply or provision of conditioning and protection. It is often much easier to obtain funds for such equipment at initial purchase than to obtain them at a later date.