HELP! transporting patients

[LibraNurse27, BSN, RN]

Wondering if I'm spoiled with my California ratios here... feel free to call me out! How do other hospitals handle transport? On my unit we transport patients everywhere: CT, X-ray, US, nuc med, take them to the car after discharge, up to the floor, take them to MRI which is in a separate building! For MRI we have to leave the hospital, get the MRI table, transfer pt to table, take them to MRI building, bring them back, and return the table. We also have to stay with unstable patients, with no one watching our other patients.

Our stepdown ratio is 3:1 but we have no clerk, no CNAs, no help with transport and our charge nurse is the rapid response nurse for the entire hospital. Often our charge is off taking calls, 2 people are off dragging beds around, one person is on a break... so that leaves one nurse with ten stepdown patients who is also answering the phones and call lights =/ The ratio SOUNDs so good: charge w/ no patients, team lead with one, and 3 nurses w/ 3 each. Looks great on paper. But then take away any ancillary staff and add in tons of pts needing 2 nurses to transport them all shift. What is it like in other hospitals and it states with higher ratios? Any ancillary staff or transport team? thanks for any info!

[yournurse]

I’m not sure if this is of any help but I work in the ICU, we get 2:1 or 1:1 depending on acuity. We transport everywhere except transferring pts to another facility , we have critical transport from a separate company for that and our patients are either vented and on pressors.

transporting pts to MRI, CT, NM or any other place, we have a transporter, RT and an RN. On the unit, we have 2 resources and a charge , and we have nursing assistants.

[LibraNurse27, BSN, RN]

Thanks! Maybe I will advocate for our charge to not be the RRT and for resource nurses that don’t have patients. I hope they will listen!

[RNperdiem, RN]

I work ICU as well. If we have 2 patients and someone needs transport, we page the ICU transport nurse, and if that nurse can take the patient, I give report to the transporter and she makes all the arrangements with CT, VIR or MRI. All I have to do is have the patient loaded up on a stretcher ready to roll when the transporter arrives. I don't think I could work anywhere else now that I am used to working with a free charge nurse, 2 CNAs who double as unit secretaries and the IV team.

[LibraNurse27, BSN, RN]

Thanks! That sounds awesome! Yes I would love to have someone making sure my patient is safe in the imaging department and I could stay with my other patients instead of leaving one or the other alone... so unsafe.