UK medical jobs holders urged to monitor newborns' fluid levels
Friday 3rd September 2010
People holding UK medical jobs have been urged by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) to monitor the levels of medicines and intravenous fluid in newborns, issuing a rapid response report to alert NHS organisations to this.
Clinicians have been asked to ensure that administration policies are available to staff, specifying that fluid bags should not be left connected to syringes when using pumps to administer medication.
Furthermore, hospital workers have also been advised that clamps on administration sets must be closed prior to removing them from infusion pumps.
Jenny Mooney, patient safety lead for child health with the NPSA, said that giving intravenous medicines to babies can be integral to their overall care.
"These latest guidelines provide clinicians with specific actions that will help reduce the risk of accidental over-infusion of intravenous fluid and medicine to this vulnerable group of patients," she remarked.
It follows the death of weeks-old Poppy Davies who was given more dextrose than intended after an operation in 2009.
Written by Mathew Horton
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