How vascular access teams are being set up across Europe—video podcast no. 2

This video is the second in a five-part series about vascular access teams (VATs): to better understand how VATs are created, their impact on patient safety and satisfaction, and their organisational effectiveness. In this edition, we discover how VATs are being set up across Europe. You will hear experiences directly from members of vascular access teams from five different hospitals in four different countries.

Main drivers for vascular access teams

Improve organisational efficiency

A nursing supervisor in Spain explains that her hospital realised it was better to create a VAT in their unit because of the complexity of moving long-term patients, often connected to machines, to another department to place a central line.

Reduce costs

The management team of a hospital in Italy understands very well that if an IV cannot be placed properly, patients have longer hospital stays, which result in additional complications and higher patient costs.

Strategic delivery of vascular access teams

Implementing a VAT enabled a hospital in Italy to take a more strategic approach to vascular access management (VAM). After a VAT was created, they implemented several procedures which included sharing expertise, creating protocols and implementing bundles. These strategic changes played an important role in increasing effectiveness and, in turn, reducing complications in their VAM process.

Integrating vascular access teams in hospitals

Referral system implementation

A lead vascular access nurse shares that the referral system for IV placement in her hospital was previously a bit ad-hoc. Once they set up a VAT in their hospital, they were able to centralise their referral system, enabling their team to sort and prioritise patients.

Supporting other departments

The head of anaesthesia and the resuscitation department at a hospital in France says that once his hospital installed a VAT, many different wards such as surgical, geriatric, and medical began asking the VAT for catheter placement. He mentions that his hospital inserts around 3,000 lines per year for their hospital of 1,000 beds. Once a VAT is created, other departments begin to seek the expertise they can provide.

Are you thinking of setting up a VAT in your hospital?

Hearing first-hand experiences from healthcare professionals who have successfully implemented VATs in their hospitals may give you the necessary information you need to get started.