What is the Analysis of the Causes of Problems in Emergency Rescue Vehicles?
2 Answers
Emergency rescue vehicles have the following issues: Variations in the placement of items in emergency rescue vehicles: There are significant differences in the placement of medications, supplies, and equipment in emergency rescue vehicles across different departments; the placement of defibrillators is unreasonable; nursing management is time-consuming and labor-intensive (each shift requires inventory checks of medications, supplies, and equipment, as well as quality inspections). Wide variety of emergency medications: Emergency rescue vehicles are equipped with various types of emergency medications, including anti-shock drugs, vasoactive drugs, respiratory stimulants, cardiac stimulants, hemostatics, antipyretics and analgesics, hormones, diuretics and dehydrating agents, volume expanders, antidotes, etc. The number of medication types can reach up to 29. Wide variety of emergency supplies: Emergency rescue vehicles are equipped with various types of emergency supplies, such as ventilation equipment (e.g., ventilators, manual resuscitation bags, tongue forceps, mouth gags, tongue depressors, oropharyngeal airways, oxygen pillows, etc.); various sterile packs (e.g., tracheostomy kits, venous cutdown kits, urinary catheterization kits, etc.); various injection supplies (e.g., syringes, emergency needles, infusion/blood transfusion pressure devices, etc.); and other specialized items (e.g., Sengstaken-Blakemore tubes, emergency lights, gloves, ice caps, extension cords, etc.). Moreover, the types of emergency supplies vary significantly across different departments, with the highest number reaching 40 in some departments.
Having worked in nursing for over a decade, I've observed that the main issues with emergency crash carts lie in management and maintenance. Inadequate daily checks often lead to unnoticed expired medications, while prolonged neglect of emergency equipment results in depleted batteries or rusted components. Disorganized placement of emergency supplies hampers efficiency, and failure to promptly restock used items is commonplace. Insufficient staff training means some don't even know how to recharge defibrillators, leading to panic during emergencies. Some even haphazardly stuff used tourniquets back without checking, continuing to use items with compromised sterile packaging. Currently, many departments' crash cart logbooks show backdated signatures without actual daily inventory checks. These management loopholes pose far greater risks than technical malfunctions.
