WTP8.08 Snapshot audit of adherence to hospital infection prevention and control policy pertaining to the monitoring of IV cannulae. A quality improvement project

Aims A quality improvement project was undertaken in a small district general hospital to investigate whether Infection and prevention control policies pertaining to IV cannulation were being followed. This guidance stated that cannulae should be: correctly dressed and labelled, documented in the electronic record and assessed twice daily to ensure there are no signs of thrombophlebitis. Methods On 15th May 2024 every inpatient in the hospital with a cannula was examined to assess whether the aforementioned criteria had been met along with the duration of time the cannula had been in and examination findings. Results It was found that 38%(n=86) of inpatients had a peripheral cannula sited. Of these, over 30% were documented in the notes and only 10 cannulae had a date label attached. The time since insertion of the cannula ranged from 24 to 240 hours. There were 26 cannulae that had spoiled dressings in situ and evidence of thrombophlebitis in 18 cannulae, which, once identified were promptly removed by staff. Conclusions From this audit it was concluded that there should be more awareness of the basic standards set out by the trust on IV cannulation to help prevent pathogenic infiltration into the cannulae. These results have been presented at the hospital’s grand round and a poster detailing these recommendations has been created to highlight the areas of concern and hopefully improve clinical practice. The audit will undergo a second cycle to investigate whether these interventions have improved things.