ABSTRACT
Oxygen and a patent airway are essential for life. Within a resource limited environment access to supplementary oxygen and mechanical ventilation can be the difference between life and death due to simple and preventable conditions. Access to supplementary oxygen may be only provided in areas where acutely ill patients are cohorted, for example emergency departments, acute bays onwards, theatres, recovery and critical care units and is only provided to those deemed most at risk. The challenges of oxygen administration are not only limited to the availability of oxygen. Healthcare professionals’ understanding and perception of how oxygen is used can influence practice. The measurement of oxygen saturations of haemoglobin via a pulse oximeter is an essential part of patient assessment and monitoring, and deemed critical patient safety equipment. Pulse oximeters provide two numerical values, the oxygen saturation of the haemoglobin in the blood and the pulse rate.
