Should ALL patients have bedside suction set up and in working order?

[FinallyRNStatus]

This one has always confused me, even though it is a fundamental topic. One of my nursing instructors gave a lecture on ensuring bedside suction is always set up during your initial visit and safety inspection of patients' rooms. In this lecture I could have sworn she meant ALL PATIENTS should have working bedside suction. However suction is rarely ever correctly set up and working in most patient rooms I visit on the med-surg floor. Many of the floor nurses do not check to see if it is set up and working until they need it.

I can't find any articles or educational resources supporting that all patients should have suction set up. Obviously suction should be set up and working for patients with a trach, seizure precautions, NG tubes ect.

Please give me your feedback. Why or why not suction should be set up at bedside for all patients? If you have any links that discuss your rational please post them too. Thanks for clarifying.

[ANEESAHM]

as respiratory i feel that any patient that has aspiration precautions, seizers, tracheostomy, and/or a peg tube or NG tube should have some sort of suction at the bedside its obvious that thees sort of patient have trouble or can not clear their own airway.

[ANEESAHM]

that is not true the pt can die from not being suctioned....if a tracheostomy pt do not get suctioned as needed they can mucus plugged causing total occlusion of the air way and die. Any pt that has trouble clearing there own airway or has aspirated can die if to much of the fluid get into the lungs

[MunoRN, RN]

as respiratory i feel that any patient that has aspiration precautions, seizers, tracheostomy, and/or a peg tube or NG tube should have some sort of suction at the bedside its obvious that thees sort of patient have trouble or can not clear their own airway.

I don't think there's been any argument that patients with indications for having immediately available suction should have suction at the ready. The question is whether or not every single patient, regardless of their potential to actually require suction, should have suction set up and ready to go.

[BiotoBSNtoFNP]

I have been in codes (not a trach, ng, g tube, seizure etc pt) where suction was needed to asst w intubation. there was none readily available on the wall, but there was portable suction on the code cart. It took a bit to set it up, but ultimately did the job. Do i think the outcome of the code would have changed if the pt had suction readily available? No, but it might have caused less panic (!).