Intrahospital transport policies: the contribution of the nurse

Background: Although intrahospital transports are performed daily in hospitals, they pose various risks to patients, which could lead to life-threatening complications. Nursing care, significantly, contribute to achieve the above, although the role of the nurse has never been studied, separately. The aim of this study was to analyze the risk factors for complications that usually occur during intrahospital transports and describe the role of nursing in intrahospital transport policies. Method and Material: We searched electronic databases Medline, Cinahl, Cochrane Library and Scirus, for the period 1980-2013, on both original articles and reviews, selecting and analyzing the articles related to the issue. Results: The risk factors for complications during intrahospital transport are related to patient’s illness severity, handling during transport, inadequate equipment, lack of highly trained staff, inadequate monitoring and ineffective communication among staff during transport. Nurses have an active involvement in intrahospital transport procedures, as personnel of the sending and receiving departments or as members of the intrahospital transport team, following or upgrading current policy. Nurses can create an intrahospital transport protocol, based on published guidelines, train the staff on it, assess and stabilize patient’s health condition prior to transport and improve the overall quality of care for transported patients. Conclusion: The risks posed by intrahospital transports for critically ill patients can be minimized or even prevented by a well-designed transport protocol with the effective participation of the nurse.

Author(s): Alamanou Despoina

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