Air Liquide confirms its commitment to patient safety

Air Liquide is one of the first companies in the healthcare industry to have signed the “Helsinki Declaration on Patient Safety in Anaesthesiology” during the 2011 European Society of Anaesthesiology Congress in Amsterdam.

Initiated by the European Board of Anaesthesiology (EBA) and the European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA), this declaration has been adopted by all European Societies of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care as well as the World Health Organization.

Around 230 million patients undergo anaesthesia for major surgery in the world every year and a number of them develop severe complications associated with these surgical procedures.

The Helsinki Declaration aims to reduce these occurrences by recalling good clinical practices – notably, respecting the preoperative and surgical safety checklist – but also the key role of anaesthesiologist in patient safety and the importance of the cooperation between healthcare companies and the medical community.

Medical gases suppliers have long been committed to the safety of patients in hospital by using, for example, colour coding and specific valve connectors on cylinders depending on the nature of the gas.

Air Liquide, world leader in medical gases, notably used in anaesthesiology and in intensive care, puts the safety of patients and healthcare professionals as its top priority. The quality and the safety of medical gases and medical devices as well as gas related services of the Group – healthcare professionals training on how to use medical gases, product traceability, alert system to ensure the continuity of supply, management of the hospital’s gas cylinder inventory – demonstrate Air Liquide’s commitment to patient safety.

See the Helsinki Declaration