Intrahospital transport of critically ill patients: complications and difficulties

An audit of 97 intrahospital transports of critically ill patients was undertaken within Westmead Hospital. The aims of this audit were to assess all factors that may lead to problems during intrahospital transports. At the completion of a transport medical staff were asked to provide information about their patient and their treatment, as well as any difficulties they may have encountered. Overall, 62% of transports reported some difficulty or complication. Of these, 31% were patient-related and 45% were related to equipment or the transport environment. (15% encountered problems in both areas). Many of the difficulties were preventable with adequate pre-transport communication and planning. Other problems were directly related to the increased severity of illness in these patients.