If you're searching for medical gas services or medical gas systems and you work in a laboratory, you're probably in the right place - but looking at it through the wrong lens.
Speck & Burke are laboratory gas specialists. We don't supply or work with clinical medical gases - the gases used in hospital theatres or patient care. Labs using gases like oxygen, nitrogen or hydrogen for instrumentation (GC, HPLC, mass spec, analytical work) operate under a different regulatory framework entirely.
That framework is the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 (PSSR), not medical gas standards. PSSR applies to any fixed laboratory gas system connected to a pressurised supply.
People searching for medical gas compliance often aren't in clinical settings - the terminology has just got muddled.
This mix-up tends to come from a few directions:
Building contractors specifying gas systems and defaulting to "medical gases"
Procurement contacts trying to approve a gas system using the term their architects put in the brief.
Pharmaceutical or cancer research labs assuming their work counts as medical
Facilities managers unsure which regulations cover their pressure systems
Labs searching for medical gas installation when they need a laboratory gas installer
Health and safety teams trying to establish what compliance category applies
Labs governed by PSSR need a written scheme of examination and safe systems of work around their gas systems, not medical gas standards - and the two are separate frameworks.
If your lab has a fixed gas system connected to cylinders or a bulk supply, PSSR 2000 almost certainly applies. Fixed pipeline systems in a cage, wall-mounted systems, copper or stainless steel lines - these are in scope. Compressed gas supplies carrying oxygen or other gases are also covered where they form part of a fixed installation. Mobile regulators sitting on top of cylinders may not be. Customers unsure of their scope often start with a free site survey. This typically includes:
Fixed pipeline systems supplying lab instrumentation
Cylinder manifold systems in external cages
Wall-mounted panel systems with relief valves
Compressed oxygen, nitrogen and bulk gas supplies
Vacuum systems and cryogenic tanks with connected distribution
If you're not sure whether your system is in scope, a free site survey will confirm it.
The medical/laboratory distinction trips up labs, contractors and procurement teams alike.
Responsibility sits with the employer or building operator. Most labs receive oxygen, nitrogen and other gases from BOC or Air Products, but the supplier's responsibility ends at the cylinder outlet. Everything downstream - pipeline systems, regulators (gauges), relief valves, flexible hoses - is the lab's obligation under PSSR. Our services follow BCGA codes of practice alongside PSSR. As approved BCGA Corporate Members, the competence of our engineers is independently assessed against the codes of practice we work to. ISO 9001 and ISO 45001 accreditation provide further verification - accreditations that guarantee our services meet recognised quality and safety standards. Response times are guaranteed: call us and you'll reach an engineer the same day. In practice, that responsibility covers:
Maintaining a valid written scheme of examination for each fixed system
Annual inspection services carried out by a BCAS competent examiner
Replacing expired components within their service life
Keeping documentation ready for any HSE, insurance or COSHH audit
Acting on inspection findings and prioritising safety-critical maintenance
A large UK chemistry department was shut down by its insurer, not HSE, because gas systems had no written scheme in place.
Five or six floors across 20 or 30 labs stopped work until compliance was demonstrated. Customers in this situation face significant operational and financial disruption. The day-to-day running of a lab looks identical whether it's compliant or not - until someone checks.
If you've been searching for medical gas services and you run a laboratory, the first step is confirming which regulation actually applies to you. A good starting point is working through the basics:
Establish whether your gas system is fixed or mobile
Confirm you fall under PSSR 2000, not medical gas standards
Get a written scheme of examination drawn up for each fixed system
Schedule annual inspection services with a BCAS competent examiner
Keep records ready for any HSE, insurance or COSHH assessment
If the gas is going into instrumentation in the lab, it doesn't matter whether it's in a hospital, a university or a pharma lab - it's still laboratory gas compliance, not medical gas.
We're laboratory gas specialists. If you've landed here searching for medical gas installation or medical gas systems, we can tell you in a short call whether you need what we do. For most labs, the answer is PSSR compliance. All Speck & Burke services follow BCGA codes of practice, and our customers get through to an approved engineer on the same day they call.
We produce written schemes of examination for every fixed laboratory gas system and manage the inspection schedule from there.
Each system gets its own document, photographed and component-listed, with replacement and maintenance dates built in.
Annual PSSR inspection services carried out by BCAS competent examiners. We bring parts on the day so components can be replaced during the same visit, keeping pressure systems - whether oxygen, nitrogen, vacuum or other gases - compliant without a second call-out.
We provide gas safety training for lab teams who work with or around pressurised gas systems. Training covers safe systems of work, cylinder handling, and how to identify when components need attention - including oxygen-specific handling and vacuum system awareness.
A practical addition to any compliance programme. This is not medical gas training for clinical environments, but practical gas safety training for laboratory teams. Training is offered as a practical addition to any compliance programme.
Medical gas services cover clinical gases used in patient care - theatre gases, anaesthetic supplies and medical gas pipeline systems serving hospital environments. These fall under different standards and require specialist installers. Laboratory gas compliance covers gases like oxygen and nitrogen used in analytical instrumentation, and falls under PSSR 2000. We provide laboratory gas services only.
Almost certainly not. Pharmaceutical and research labs using medical gases or laboratory gases for instruments like GC or mass spec are operating laboratory gas systems, regardless of how medical the end research sounds. The dividing line is whether gas contacts patients. If it goes into instrumentation, PSSR applies and laboratory gas services are what's needed.
A written scheme of examination (WSE) is a legal document required under PSSR 2000 for every fixed gas system. It lists all components, sets inspection and maintenance dates, and is specific to each system. If you have fixed pipeline systems connected to a pressurised oxygen, nitrogen or other gas supply, you need one per system. BCGA guidance informs how these are structured for laboratory environments.
No. A medical gas installation covers clinical pipeline systems for patient use. Your laboratory gas systems - the fixed pipework and pipeline systems supplying your instruments - are governed separately under PSSR 2000 and require their own written schemes, maintenance records and annual inspection services carried out by a BCAS competent examiner.
Yes. University or research labs based within hospital buildings that use gas for instrumentation are still laboratory gas systems under PSSR. The distinction is how the gas is used, not where the building is. If it goes into instruments and not into patients, our services apply. Response times are the same as any other site - you'll reach an engineer on the day you call.
Nothing obvious day to day - until an insurer, HSE inspector or internal assessment identifies the gap. One large UK university chemistry department had five or six floors shut down by its insurer until gas compliance was demonstrated. The financial and operational impact on customers in that situation was significant. Gas safety training and a current written scheme are the two things that most quickly demonstrate a lab is taking its obligations seriously.
Call us for a no-obligation conversation and we'll confirm in minutes whether your lab needs medical gas services or laboratory gas compliance support.
Call now on 01259 222 600.
