What does a hospital medical gas committee do?

HTM 02-01 Part B (2026 edition) says most organisations may already have a medical gas committee or a similar group managing medical gas safety, which should now be referred to as the MGSG, and that anyone who interacts with medical gases should be considered and represented in it. The group assesses and monitors all aspects of medical gases and resilience, and oversees the maintenance and operation of the system by monitoring, recording and acting on pipeline safety issues. It should be part of the organisation's governance structure and report to the board.

Who sits on it

The guidance lists typical members:

• Estates staff, from operations and projects.
• The Chief Pharmacist and pharmacy staff.
• An Authorising Engineer (MGPS) and the Authorised Person(s) (MGPS).
• Senior nursing representatives from different clinical areas.
• The portering manager.
• Staff from clinical engineering services.
• Clinicians from specialist departments, for example radiology, radiotherapy, community and dental services.
• The Fire Safety Adviser or Fire Safety Manager.

Members who may be co-opted include the Quality Controller (MGPS), designers conversant with medical gas pipeline design, finance staff accountable for capital and revenue evaluation, and health and safety and learning and organisational development staff. The terms of reference should let the chair co-opt members for specific task reviews.

What it does

• Assures the board that appropriate expertise and personnel are available, so that the policies and actions it agrees are fully implemented.
• Agrees decisions that affect the resilience, safety and integrity of pipeline distribution and supply systems; these should not go ahead without its agreement.
• Oversees all new installations and modifications, and reviews and approves designs before any work starts.
• Approves the maintenance programme prepared by the Authorised Person (MGPS) with the Authorising Engineer (MGPS).
• Makes sure the operational and management policy and its risk register are reviewed regularly, manages the standard operating procedure and signs it off after each change.
• Covers the appointment of designated personnel and checks of their qualifications, staff training, monitoring of the system and its alarms, incident protocols and the safe decommissioning of equipment.
• Documents its contributions to design, assessment and maintenance decisions.

Meetings and projects

The MGSG should meet quarterly, although individual responsibilities should not wait for formal meetings, and should review the operational policy annually. Detailed minutes are recorded, distributed and retained, and the chair reports the minutes and actions to the board through the relevant health and safety and medicines management group. The operational policy itself receives final approval from the Executive Manager. For large or complex new builds or refurbishments, a project-specific medical gas safety group (PMGSG) reports to the main MGSG, and the project ends with a formal lessons-learned exercise.