dissle

Just wondered how you all weigh your patients? We have a hoist but the slings are very expensive so we want to see what else is out there offering better value for money, also that is less dispruptive to the patient with less risk. Thanks.

We use Hill Rom however the whole hospital use these. Without weighing facilities. It is hard work as the hoists lift patients off the bed, tubes, lines and wires all at risk of dislodgement. It is not an option to change the beds. I wondered if the...

Hi, thanks so much for your reply. Could i ask who is the manufacturer of these scales? Dissle

We are about to start training on Prisma flex by Gambro. These machines do not have a needle free system for sampling blood for APTT, we have to use a needle and syringe. This is a practice that we are desperate to avoid/stop using. We could sample f...

To be fair, it gives them "permission" to not be there exhausting themselves 24 hours a day. Also, we get quite close to our families, and build up a trusting relationship, they see their relative is bieng cared for with respect and with dignity, the...

2 til 8pm, visiting, that is it. 2 visitors at a time, and next of kin only. Any other visitors are allowed if the nOK gives permission, again, this is restricted. This is a given and is not questioned in my dept. Relatives are told of this rule and ...

AAAAHhhh the positives of the British NHS! We do get this, but people are usually very English and very grateful for everything that we do for them! But then i am sure that an English nurse will come on here shortly to tell me that i am mad and tha...

Some one out there, must know of an easy way of learning and retaining all of the information associated with cardiac performance. I jsut cant get it into my thick skull!! C.O C.I SVRI pre load, afterload, contractility etc etc etc.... How on earth d...

Ok so: you need 3 things to make a BP, pump volume squeeze CO=Pump CVP=volume SVRI=squeeze. 3 types of hypotension: 1)Cardiogenic=pump failure= CO goes down, svri goes up 2) Hypovolaemic=No volume so Co down, Pawp down &svri up 3)Septic=BP down,...

thanks for those brilliant links, particularly like the FAQ one, that is speaking my language....simple simple simple!

Blueheaven, what pageresiratory says is fair comment. HME,s ARE contraindicated for use for more than 24 hours and in patients with copious secretions. What about patients with pneumonia's who have thick sticky secretions, how are these mobilised wi...

We have come across HME's to replace wet circuits. Has any one changed over to these and if so what is your experiences? Good/bad i would like a bit of info before going looking for the research etc. Should i save myself the bother, its just that the...

I cant do links, sorry, im rubbish at computers. Its by Covidian who were Tyco and they are called "Hygroster" I have got some in my office and have been looking at them on and off for months. Now papers are bieng published about how good they are an...

I am curious about how every one undertakes training post qualifying. I have several questions if you don't mind and would really appreciate any input. How does your department facilitate training, say on a medical device? During a busy shift, when d...

How about you guys in America, how do you do this?

I have sourced a high quality HME that has withstood vigorous trialling and has many papers written about it. It can be used to replace wet circuits for patients who will be ventilated for longer than 24 hours. Taking up your point about thick bloody...

Hi, Any one else?

Soryy, "used" them or heard of them?

Thats basically what we do now, but these Hme's are such good quality that they can be used instead of heated wire circuits. They are at a fraction of the cost of the disposable wet circuits. Any one heard of them or heard of them?

Great suggestions there thanks. I can certainly facilitate training for the senior staff on devices. As there is always at least one of them on a shift there is always one person who will know the kit well. My problem with this is that due to poor st...

Oh Sharrie, your place sounds superb, with a great number of staff dedicated to training. We too have good induction and mentorship, but there are only 2 of us and i am part time. Therein lies my problem, i just feel like i am drowning in it all and ...

Thanks for your reply, it is very much how our Trust do things, however i am in critical care and so the list of devices that we have to learn is vast, and the staff list to get through this training likewise. We are a seperate entity because of this...

Hi, We regularly prone our patients. It works well for the most part however we are finding more and more that these patients end up with terrible presure sores over the fore head and chin especially where the ET tape lies. I have sourced a type of "...

Our unit policy states that patients can remain proned for up to 24 hours with head and arm position changes every 4 hours IF stable enough to do so. This may seem prolonged but it works, the gasses are miles better a very short time after pronation....

Relatively uncommon actually. We are using this manouvre more and more and have a protocol in place which tells us when to prone. Have to say that this is a hot topic and in favour at the moment, where as last year it was nitric oxide therapy, the y...