Enhancing safety in intrahospital transport of critically ill patients: developing an intrahospital transport tool

The transport of critically ill patients is a high-risk procedure. The overall incidence of adverse events (AEs) during the intra-hospital transfer (IHT) of critically ill patients reportedly ranges from 1.7 % to 75.7 %. It is crucial to record the physiological parameters, ventilatory requirements and hemodynamic support of all critically ill patients undergoing transfer. NICE guidelines recommend using standardized care systems (e.g., checklists, staffing and equipment) when transferring critically ill patients within or between hospitals. However, we found a lack of practical and clinically acceptable evidence-based tools that could be used to document the intrahospital transfer of critically ill patients in our hospital.