1. TRANSFUSIONS IN THE COMMUNITY
FRIDGE TRAINING PACKAGE

2. You may already be aware that for us to be compliant with the EU/Blood Safety Quality Regulations 2005, Good Manufacturing Practice and ISO laboratory service standards we need to ensure:
Blood components must be maintained between 2°C to 6°C at all times during their storage and transport in order to remain safe and viable.
This is integral to the cold chain audit which is required by law to be recorded from when the unit was donated to when it is transfused.

3. As part of Transfusions in the Community the Blood Transfusion Laboratory's Aim:
To provide a robust and resilient training package for blood transport and storage for the community hospital staff.
In order to provide the best service for the patient.
Ensure all the standards are met and evidence retained at all times and submitted annually to confirm compliance.
Storage facilities are monitored daily and repaired promptly if broken.

4. Six Main Training Aspects to Cover
Blood movement in/out of the fridge when it arrives from the LRI.
Daily temperature monitoring of the fridge
How to test and record fridge alarms
What to do in the event of temperature excursion
How to record fridge breakdowns
How to pack contents into a blood transport box
Finally a practical & theoretical exercise will be given to assess competency

5. Blood movement in and out of the fridge
Blood will arrive from the Leicester Royal Infirmary
Check blood has arrived within the transport transit time (3 hours) and record on the transfer documents which should be inside box.
Check the transport box is still sealed
Transfer the contents of the box to the fridge recording the following:
Unit No’s
Date/Time
*Air & Load temperature when moving in or out as you do so on the Blood Movement Log.
* Record on the Daily Blood Fridge Temperature Record.
REMEMBER BLOOD SHOULD BE LEFT NO LONGER THAN 30 MIN OUT OF THE BOX OR FRIDGE AT ANY TIME. THIS IS TO ENSURE THE CELLS REMAIN VIABLE AND PREVENT BACTERIAL GROWTH

7. How to Test and Record the Fridge Alarms
Frequency of Checking - Weekly
Checking Correct Functioning of Blood Fridge Temperature and Power Alarms
Inspection of Fridge charts and the changing of chart paper
All fridge charts should be sent to the Leicester Royal Infirmary
Unexpected variations should be brought to the attention of a Senior member of staff of Blood Transfusion Laboratory immediately
Call Leicester Royal Infirmary on and ask to speak to a Senior for advice who will give further instructions.

9. How to Test the alarms on Labcold Fridge
There are 3 Alarms to be tested
Press the bell icon on the digital display. This will activate alarm locally and remotely.
Keep the door open ajar until the alarm activates
Switch off the power to the fridge and this will activate the power unit alarm

10. How to test the alarms on the Sanyo Fridge (only at Loros)
The alarm sounds when the internal temperature of the fridge recorder is above 6°C or below 2°C.
There is an alarm warning test switch to see if the warning light and audible alarm work properly. This is found at the top of the panel fridge.
If the warning alarm and light are activated when this switch is turned on, the alarm is working properly.
To reset the alarm, turn the warning switch off and on again.

12. What to do in the Event of a Temperature Excursion.
Action to Take if Alarms are Activated :
Check has the display temperature deviated from the normal range (2°C to 6°C)
Check the Equipment (5mins)
Check Power to the unit
Check doors to the unit are shut
Contact LRI blood bank immediately (24/7) and notify them of the problem and await further instructions.

13. What Actions to take in the event of an Equipment Alarm
WHEN ALARM TRIGGERED
Check the Equipment (5mins):
Check Power to the unit
Check doors to the unit are shut
Investigate the activities
No Clear Reason for Alarm or Unsure what to do
CONTACT SENIOR MEMBER OF STAFF AT LRI
CONTECT NO
EVACUATE FRIDGE
IMMEDIATLEY
AWAIT INSTRUCTION FROM LRI
Complete breakdown log sheet

14. How to record fridge breakdowns
If a piece of equipment breaks down this should be brought to the attention of a senior member of staff at Blood Transfusion Lab, Leicester Royal Infirmary.
LEICESTER ROYAL INFIRMARY WILL CONTACT ENGINEER
Hospital Staff at the Community Hospital should fill out the Community Hospital Repair log sheet.
Nurse in charge should be notified who should then attach repair log sheet and decontamination certificate to piece of equipment.
ONCE THE ENGINEER HAS COMPLETED ALL REPAIRS
Write a brief resume of repair on the form details of the repair and obtain engineer’s signature and notify LRI of the repair.

16. How to Pack Contents into a Blood Transport Box
Arrange for taxi to take blood box back to the LRI
All the air space must be filled with either blood components or the appropriate temperature transport packs.
4°C packs for red cells
Place a transport pack flat on the bottom of the box and the components on top of this pack.
These must have a total of 6 items, a combination of units and cool packs
Document the time when blood placed in box using the Transport documents present in the Transfusion in the Community Policy.
MAXIMUM storage time of 3 hours from when packed.
Put a cable tie on the box for security
NB Pack the blood box once the taxi has been phoned

18. Practical & Theoretical
Question Time
Practical &Theoretical Competency
(to be completed every 2 years)

19. Contact Numbers LRI Blood Transfusion Laboratory 0116 258 6605 (24/7)
(24/7)
Kathryn Potter (Blood Transfusion Deputy Service Manager) /
Amanda Gardner (Quality Manager)

20. Thank You