title: The safety of UK video telemetry units: results of a national service evaluation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess patient safety during seizures occurring on UK video telemetry units and identify factors in unit infrastructure which may improve safety with the intention of producing national guidelines.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective multicentre national service evaluation of the occurrence of adverse events and level of nurse attendance during seizures occurring on video telemetry units was performed. Data from 272 seizures from 27 video telemetry units across the UK were analysed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Adverse events occurred in 12% of seizures: 7% were physical events such as falls or respiratory compromise and 5% were unnoticed seizures. Nursing staff did not attend the patients in 44% of seizures and attendance was delayed beyond 30s in a further 29%. Only 27% of seizures were attended by a Healthcare Professional within half a minute. The most important factor shown to improve timely attendance of patients during seizures was the presence of a nurse dedicated to the telemetry bed(s). The site of the telemetry bed (bay or cubicle) and method of observation (direct or indirect) was less important. An optimal nurse-to-patient ratio was difficult to identify but the study suggests that a ratio of at least 1 nurse to 4 patients is appropriate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results provide an evidence base for the production of national standards and guidelines for surveillance of patients during video telemetry to improve patient safety.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Glossop Road, Sheffield S10 2JF, UK. Electronic address: rosalind.kandler@sth.nhs.uk.
authors.forename: Rosalind
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kandler
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Athi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ponnusamy
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bland
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pang
mesh_terms: D004569:Electroencephalography; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D012449:Safety; D012640:Seizures / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013686:Telemetry / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Adverse Events; Epilepsy monitoring unit; Safety; Seizures; Video telemetry