Kennel environment:

• Use air-conditioning to warm the room.

• Use the radiators.

Individual patient:

Head pads

• Ensure the patient does not come into direct contact with the heatpad.
• Place a Vetbed or thick blanket over the heatpad.
• Ensure the electric cable is not freely accessible to the patient or other patients, causing a health and safety hazard to patients and staff.

Snugglesafe

• Follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for heating the Snugglesafe in the microwave, then place in the Snugglesafe cover.
• Ensure the patient does not come into direct contact with the Snugglesafe.

Bair Hugger

• Select an appropriate size Bair Hugger blanket for the patient.
• Attach the blanket to the Bair Hugger unit hose, and secure in place.
• Switch the machine on.
• Select the appropriate temperature setting.
• Either place the patient on the Bair Hugger blanket or place the Bair Hugger blanket on the patient.
• Ensure there are no kinks in the blanket or unit hose, this would occlude the warm air from reaching the patient
• Ensure the kennel door is securely closed with the unit in the kennel.

Fluid warmer

• Sterilize and clean the surface of the warmer.
• Hang the warmer on the infusion pole/other support with the suspension belt and adjust belt to proper height.
• Put the infusion tube (≤4mm) into the ‘s’-shape tube channel of the warmer, and make sure that the infusion tube is placed on the bottom of the channel.
• Turn on the power: connect the power plug of the warmer with adapted AC power socket; the power indicator then keeps green which indicates the warmer has been connected with electricity.
• The run indicator keeps yellow or glittering which indicates the device has begun to work. The run indicator will go out after the heating plate reaches the working temperature (41 °C or so). Then it will begin to heat the infusion liquid.
• Alarm: the power supply will be automatically cut off when the heating plate reaches or exceeds 47 °C + 2 °C.
• Turn off the power: pull out the power plug of the device from the AC socket when transfusion has finished.
• Sterilise and clean the surface of the infusion warmer.

Blankets, foil and bubble wrap (available to wrap the patients in)

• Monitor the patient’s temperature every 15mins and record the findings on the hospital sheet. Adjust the heat source according to the patient’s temperature.
• Special care is to be taken with recumbent patients, who cannot move away from the heat source. Recumbent patients should be moved or turned every 2hrs.

Prepared by VetNurse.co.uk. V1. 28/9/2023

Download "Heating Patients" as a Word document here.