title: Intravenous care: the benefits of closed-system connectors.
abstract: Following a review of venous access care, a needleless closed-system connector was introduced to Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust. A cannulation audit and a survey of central catheter care found a wide diversity of practice. The objective was to write a procedure for central line care that could be used by most clinical departments and that could be employed to improve the standard of cannula care. A trust-wide review found that staff appeared unconcerned about the care of cannulae and rarely documented their practice. In addition, general wards had a misguided idea of what central line care involved as a result of their infrequent exposure to them and the inconsistent information given to them by specialist wards. To help unify practice and simplify information a different approach was required. This led to a 12-month, nurse-led project to develop a tender specification for closed-system connectors and a 2-year contract being awarded to Kimal plc for its Clave connector.
authors.affiliation: Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, Plymouth.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cheeseman
mesh_terms: D002405:Catheterization, Central Venous / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000451:nursing* / Q000592:standards; D002408:Catheters, Indwelling / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000592:standards*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000592:standards; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000451:nursing* / Q000592:standards; D009731:Nursing Audit; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000458:organization & administration