I am sure we all have "horror" stories to tell regarding the use and abuse
of pneumatic tube systems in Hospitals and Laboratories. The following two
are my favourites. The first concerned a patient in the maternity ward who
discovered that this was an excellent way of disposing of her used sanitary
towels, and the second was a very "green" junior Nurse, who was told to
deliver a 24 hour urine sample to the Lab, which she did by pouring the
contents of the sample container into the system along with the request form.

Needless to say, the system was closed down shortly there afterwards and
never resurrected.

Mike Kirby.
Chief Safety Officer
S.A.I.M.R
Johannesburg
R.S.Africa.