The Transfusion Team is still dedicated to raising awareness of significant issues influencing clinical transfusion and stressing the need of being watchful in preventing Transfusion Associated Circulatory Overload (TACO) as we move in to week three of the campaign.
Positive Patient Identification is the topic of discussion this week. At each step of the transfusion procedure, positive patient identification is essential to guaranteeing the right blood, right patient, right time, every time.
Moira Caldwell, Transfusion Practitioner, said: “The most frequent type of occurrences reported to serious Hazard of Transfusion (SHOT) is WBIT (Wrong Blood in Tube) incidents. The patient was not properly identified or the sample hadn’t been labelled at the patient’s side in nearly a fifth of WBIT cases.”
Here are some of the instances that put Positive Patient Identification at risk due to simple safety precautions not being followed:
- Use of a pre-labelled sample tube
- Inaccurate patient identification during phlebotomy
- Sample not documented at the bedside
- Sample not labelled by the person taking the sample
Moira added: “Blood sample tubes must be labelled next to the patient during transfusion sampling. It is necessary to perform bedside inspections next to patients who are getting transfusions.
“Please support safe and appropriate transfusion practice with the message that positive patient identification is critical at every stage of the transfusion process to ensure that the Right Blood is given to the Right Patient at the Right Time, Every Time. Please remember No Wristband, No Transfusion.”
The final week of the four-week campaign will be dedicated to Transfusion Education next week.
To take part in the campaign, stay informed, and demonstrate your commitment to appropriate and safe transfusion practises, use the hashtag #SNBTSTransfusionTeam on social media.
