Implementation of a vascular access nursing unit: where to start?

Abstract

The formation of vascular access teams in the world has been accompanied by multiple reported benefits, both for people carrying vascular devices and for health organizations, demonstrated in the implementation of decision algorithms for the selection of vascular devices, greater satisfaction user, less pain during the installation procedure, decrease in complications associated with vascular access, strengthening of monitoring and follow-up of adverse events associated with the use of venous catheters and economic savings for hospital establishments. In Chile, there are different attempts to create or initial models of vascular access equipment without reports of these. The general objective of this article is to generally describe the resources to implement a vascular access unit in public hospitals, through the review of literature available in different databases during January-July 2023, with the purpose of offering a guide. initial for the implementation of vascular access units in our country. The formation of these units has been heterogeneous and diverse, however, characterized by a common purpose of strengthening patient safety through evidence-based practices for the installation and maintenance of vascular devices. One of the key aspects is the need to have a specialized nursing team, with the necessary material and physical resources, exclusive dedication time of the team members, sensitive indicators of the unit and anchored as a strategic unit for healthcare institutions. health.