Loading the syringe

Seek expert advice before setting up a syringe driver.

"...Since the syringe bore varies with different manufacturers and syringe volumes, it is the length of the infusion fluid that is important, not the volume in the syringe..48 mm length as the usual amount for daily infusion (1)."

Load the syringe to 48mm length and connect it to a one metre line G21 butterfly needle.

Put a new battery in the syringe driver and place the syringe in its holder.

Use the test button to run the fluid through to the needle tip and check that the rate is correctly set:

• Graseby MS16 (blue) - set at mm per hour, i.e. for a 48 mm length of infusion fluid set at 02mm/hr
• Graseby MS26 (green) - set at mm per day, i.e. for a 48 mm length of infusion fluid set at 48 mm per day

Have a clear drug chart by the patient with the doses of drugs and the times written and signed by the doctor. All controlled drugs must be kept in a safe place and accounted for.

Reference:

1. West Midlands Palliative Care Physicians (2003). Palliative care - guidelines for the use of drugs in symptoms control.
2. Dr Michael Cushen, St Elizabeth Hospice, Ipswich 5/96