Standards for icu set up

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Specializes in Anesthesia.

I was wondering if anyone knows of standards of care for icu room set up? I was called to intubate a patient in the icu and when I got there, there wasn't any suction set up, no ambu bag was in the room and the intubation roll was missing several items. Is there a professional organization that sets the standards for what must be immediately available at the bedside?

thank you

Specializes in CEN, CFRN, PHRN, RCIS, EMT-P.
I was wondering if anyone knows of standards of care for icu room set up? I was called to intubate a patient in the icu and when I got there there wasn't any suction set up, no ambu bag was in the room and the intubation roll was missing several items. Is there a professional organization that sets the standards for what must be immediately available at the bedside? thank you[/quote']

Rather than asking here, go through the chain of command and safety officer at your facility. This is a serious event that could have resulted in a fatality.

Yes, their is a standard, and it is determined by your hospitals policy.

Our ICU policy is every room has suction set up (canister, suction tubing, yankur in room), BVM with mask and a crash cart in the unit (the crash cart has an intubation roll in it). We also have an intubation roll outside of the crash cart that is checked daily.

Specializes in Anesthesia.

I realize this was a serious event and I am following the appropriate chain of command. My question was "Are there standards set by a professional organization?" I went to AACN website to see if they had any standard for what should be set up in the room. When I was an ICU nurse, there was always an ambu bag in the room and suction set up. I don't want to get an excuse of "Well, the ambu bag is available on the crash cart" I wanted a set of standards I could pull out to show risk management.

Never seen a national standard.

Specializes in trauma.

Our ICU cubicles are all stocked with necessary equipment as per our company policy. It however does not state it in any of our legislations. The only country I could find that outlines the set up in an ICU cubicle in their nursing legislation is India. Hope it helps a bit.

Specializes in CCU and Tele. stepdown.

Critical care room should be stocked with a ambu-bag/mask/suction ,tubing and yank. Often somewhere by the head of the bed, unopened ready get to if and when needed. They don't get charged to the patient unless used , I called this the mini bar concept. They should also be replaced after discharged but before the next admission if used. I am unsure what an intubation roll is it might be called something else where I am at. It does sound a lot like an airway box. This has all the items needed to tube a patient without having to open the code cart for those resp distress patients that need to be tube prior to coding its more a planed intubation, also the airway box does not have RSI meds. Liberated847 brings up a good point on bringing this up to the chain of command. Improving a code or the next RRT is the only way to learn.

Specializes in Critical care.

I'm thinking our CRNA OP is quite aware what SHOULD constitute a safely prepared intubation.

I too, looked for a national standard and thus far, it looks like it's going to be up to whatever internal facility remedies you can muster.

Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.

Our standard rooms have a suction set up including canister, tubing , and yankauer. We also have an ambu bag, and intubation box ( has blades, ett, restraints). I am not sure what an inbutation roll is.

Being in RRT there are many med surg rooms that have no set up. I have opened crash carts that have no ambu bag in them.

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