Ventilator alarms/problems

Your ventilator machine is set with the pressures your doctor has prescribed for you. The ventilator machine is then locked so these pressures cannot be changed. It is important to know that a change in the pressure can affect your health and any changes in pressure can only be made on the instruction of a doctor or health care professional.

Please find below a brief summary of some of the most common alarms that may occur while using your ventilator:

Main alarm	Solution
Blank display	Power is not connected to the ventilator, the ventilator is not switched on or the battery power has been in use and the battery is drained. Plug the ventilator into an electricity supply and switch the ventilator on. If no display, contact Air Products for a replacement.
Patient disconnect alarm	Check if your connection tubing has come off the outlet on the ventilator, humidifier or mask. Reattach. Also check for a leak/tear in your connection tubing or a large tear/damage to your mask. Refer to your fitting guidelines. Contact Air Products if the alarm persists.
High or low pressure alarms	Check your mask is fitted correctly – too much leak from a poorly fitting mask may cause low pressure alarms. High pressure alarms can result if there is a blockage– check that filters are clean and that the tubing is free from blockage. Re-examine mask and circuit configuration and check filters at the back of the equipment.
How to reset alarms	An engineer will show you the alarm silence button and how to reset the alarm on your ventilator machine. Always react to an alarm, try to identify the cause, rectify the problem and reset. Constant alarming will need to be checked by Air Products.
E code	An ‘E’ indicates an error with the ventilator. Please contact Air Products to have your ventilator replaced.
C code	The ventilator will continue operating despite this error but will not record data. Remove the card from your ventilator and contact Air Products during normal working hours for a replacement.

Your prescriber may decide to order additional alarms – if this is the case, these will be explained to you by your technician on installation