Importance of specialized paediatric and neonatal transport. Current situation in Spain: Towards a more equitable and universal future

Specialized paediatric and neonatal transport is a useful and essential resource in the interhospital transfer of these patients. It allows bringing the material and personal resources of an intensive care unit closer to the regional hospitals where the patient can be found. The benefits of these teams are very well demonstrated in the literature. These units should be part of the emergency systems, while it would be recommended that they be staff integrated in the tertiary hospitals, in order to maintain the necessary skills and competencies. The team, made up of physicians, nurses and emergency medical technicians, must master both the pathophysiology of transport and that of the critical patient in this age range. A high quality of both human and care is important, so continuous training and periodic recycling will be essential to be compliant with the quality indicators in transport. Likewise, it is essential to have specific vehicles adapted to this function, which allow carrying the wide variety of necessary material, as well as the electromedicine that is required. However, in Spain this paediatric and neonatal transport model is not standardized and therefore is not homogeneous: there are different models that do not always provide adequate quality, making it necessary to implement specialized units throughout the country to guarantee sanitary transport quality to any critical child or neonate.

Quality indicators in interhospital transport: Multicentre project

INTRODUCTION

Interhospital transport is carried out by variable teams in different regions of our country, and this makes quality evaluation and benchmarking complicated. Project objective: Select and define a consensual list of quality measurement that may be used by national transport units, whether specialised or not.

METHODS

Initial set of quality indicators was proposed by coordinators (members of representative specialised transport units in Spain). Evaluation by selected transport specialists from participating units and SECIP (Society of Paediatric Intensive Care) and SENeo (Spanish Neonatology Society) work teams. Selection of definitive indicators by Delphi method according to relevance and feasibility.

RESULTS

A total of 35 quality indicators were included in the initial set. Evaluation was carried out by 22 specialists from 7 transport teams. In a first round, 4 indicators were consensually included in the definitive list. Results for the rest of metrics and comments were sent to all participants, and after a second assessment, 11 other indicators reached enough consensus. After list accomplishment, a consensual final definition for every indicator was established.

CONCLUSIONS

Using a consensual research method, a list of 15 common indicators was obtained, which may be used by specialised transport teams in our country, and by non-specialised clinics in charge of interhospital paediatric transport. It will allow individual performance to be assessed, as well as benchmarking, in order to find improvement opportunities and ensure the highest quality during interhospital transport.

[Importance of specialized paediatric and neonatal transport. Current situation in Spain: Towards a more equitable and universal future]

Specialized paediatric and neonatal transport is a useful and essential resource in the interhospital transfer of these patients. It allows bringing the material and personal resources of an intensive care unit closer to the regional hospitals where the patient can be found. The benefits of these teams are very well demonstrated in the literature. These units should be part of the emergency systems, while it would be recommended that they would be staff integrated in the tertiary hospitals, in order to maintain the necessary skills and competencies. The team, made up of physicians, nurses and emergency medical technicians, must master both the pathophysiology of transport and that of the critical patient in this age range. A high-quality of both human and care is important, so continuous training and periodic recycling will be essential to be compliant with the quality indicators in transport. Likewise, it is essential to have specific vehicles adapted to this function, which allow carrying the wide variety of necessary material, as well as the electromedicine that is required. However, in Spain this paediatric and neonatal transport model is not standardized and, therefore, is not homogeneous: there are different models that do not always provide adequate quality, making it necessary to implement specialized units throughout the country to guarantee sanitary transport quality to any critical child or neonate.