Improving safety with nasogastric tubes: a whole-system approach

Abstract

Misplacement of nasogastric tubes can have disastrous consequences for patients and is listed as a “never event” by NHS England. When Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had two of these never events, the nutrition nursing team carried out a system-wide evaluation to identify problems and develop plans to address them. An e-learning package, robust standardisation in staff's approach to patient care, re-setting “red lines” to support and empower staff, and the introduction of monitoring and reporting systems have contributed to improving patient safety.

In this article…

• A whole-system approach to help prevent misplacement of nasogastric tubes

• How an e-learning tool was developed to increase competence and confidence in staff

• Establishing formal monitoring and reporting systems to improve patient safety

Nursing Times Awards

This initiative won the Patient Safety Improvement category in the 2018 Nursing Times Awards.

To find out more about the NT Awards go to https://awards.nursingtimes.net