HSJ Roundtable: Ensuring safe vascular access

Summary

Ensuring safe vascular access is a fundamental part of the care of many hospital patients with up to 90% of inpatients requiring intravenous access for delivery of fluids and medication or blood sampling.

Historically vascular access has been carried out by anaesthetists, radiologists and medical consultants. But an HSJ roundtable heard that introducing specialist teams to assess patients for vascular access, and then insert, care and maintain devices has many advantages from both an organisational perspective and that of the patient.