A quality improvement initiative to improve transport team mobilization for emergent neonatal transfers

Area of Science:

• Neonatal care
• Quality improvement science
• Transport medicine

Background:

• Neonatal deaths are often linked to delayed access to specialized care, particularly for infants requiring urgent transfer.
• Peripheral facilities and uncoordinated transport systems contribute to vulnerability during neonatal transfers.
• Time-sensitive neonatal transfers necessitate prompt response from specialized teams, as delays can negatively impact outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To reduce the mobilization time (MT) for emergent neonatal transfers to ≤10 minutes in over 70% of cases within 3 months.
• To enhance the efficiency of neonatal retrieval teams in a tertiary care setting.
• To improve the timeliness of care for critically ill newborns requiring transfer.

Main Methods:

• A single-center quality improvement (QI) study was performed at a Level 3B Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
• Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles were implemented, including designating a transport nurse and optimizing retrieval kit readiness.
• Educational interventions focused on timely mobilization of the transport team.

Main Results:

• Mobilization time (MT) was reduced to ≤10 minutes in 70.6% of emergent neonatal transfers.
• MT was under 15 minutes in 80.6% of transfers, meeting the Australian New Zealand Neonatal Retrieval Network (ANZNRN) benchmark.
• The study successfully achieved its primary aim within the specified timeframe.

Conclusions:

• Well-designed QI strategies can significantly improve time-related quality indicators for neonatal transport teams.
• Simple, effective measures can accelerate mobilization times for critical neonatal transfers.
• This study provides a model for other healthcare facilities to enhance their neonatal transfer processes.