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New Spanish vascular access team standard

On 4th November 2022, the Spanish Society of Infusion and Vascular Access (SEINAV: Sociedad Española de Infusión y Acceso Vascular) announced the launch of a new vascular access team (VAT) standard, the first in Europe.1

Partnering with BD, SEINAV developed this standard to unify best practices and guidelines to implement, maintain, document and improve the safety and quality of care through vascular access teams.1,2

Benefits of a vascular access team

According to SEINAV, a vascular access team guided by a management system such as their standard can help control risks, including infection prevention, and promote safer patient care.2

In the Navarra Hospital in Pamplona, Spain, the development of a vascular access team led to lower complication rates, cost savings in peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) insertions and higher perceived satisfaction for both patients and healthcare workers.3

Learn more about the positive impact of vascular access teams: NIVAS white paper: The benefits of a vascular access team

Development of a vascular access team through SEINAV

The standard establishes the general principles and technical requirements that an organisation must meet for the creation, maintenance and continuous improvement of a vascular access team, offering a route to accreditation as well.2

The standard is structured to give an organisation a compliance rating (basic, medium or advanced) based on their degree of implementation of the standard’s key points in the development of a vascular access team:2

  • Context: Understanding internal and external organisational factors to identify the needs that the vascular access team must meet
  • Leadership: Implementation of a manager committed to vascular access team compliance
  • Planning: Identification of risks and opportunities to obtain best results
  • Structure and people: Focus on recruitment, training and continuous assessment, including workload management and resource availability
  • Device management: Techniques and procedures carried out with infusion and vascular access devices
  • Research, development and innovation: Ability to keep up with the latest vascular access guidelines
  • Performance evaluation: Internal audits to evaluate patient and healthcare worker experience
  • Monitoring and measurement: Incident and non-conformity management by tracking corrective actions based on complaints, claims and suggestions

The standard recommends the formation of a nursing-led vascular access team, where the vascular access nurses can have different levels of expertise and technical profiles.1

Camino del Río, President of SEINAV and Representative of the Donostia University Hospital, one of the standard’s pilot locations, highlighted that this new standard “represents a milestone for our nursing profession, because it has been created by nurses and because it is the first technical standard that exists, at least in Europe, for this type of equipment. Vascular access teams will be more efficient and provide safer patient care.”1

Make the case for a vascular access team

 

References

  1. Spanish Society of Infusion and Vascular Access (SEINAV). Creation of the new standard of excellence for vascular access teams (VAT) to improve patient safety. Madrid: 4 Nov 2022.
  2. Spanish Society of Infusion and Vascular Access (SEINAV). Summary: VAT Standard. Accessed 27 Jan 2023 at: https://privado.seinav.org/resumen_norma.php.
  3. Martínez IC, Torres MA, Revilla AD, et al. Impact assessment following implementation of a vascular access team. J Vasc Access. 2022 Jan;23(1):135-144. Doi: 10.1177/1129729820984284. Epub 2020 Dec 26.

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