Emergency Trolley’s Contents and Records: Audit Study at Maternity Sections, State Hospitals, Windhoek, Namibia

Abstract

The purpose of the study sought to assess and evaluate the contents and records of the emergency trolley in the maternity section of the state hospitals in Windhoek, Namibia. A quantitative and descriptive research design was used for the study to investigate emergency equipment, essential drugs and emergency trolleys. A convenient sample of 10 emergency trolleys in the Windhoek Central Hospital (Hospital A) and Katutura Intermediate Hospital (Hospital B) in Windhoek, Namibia were used. Data was collected using a checklist adapted and edited from the EMSSA. Data were analysed using Microsoft excel 2013. Essential paediatric equipment including bag valve mask devices, Magill's forceps, oxygen masks were absent in many of the units and wards. Data described that checking of defibrillators, monitors and suction devices still remained a major problem in the units/wards that were fortunate enough to have the aforementioned equipment. A conclusion was that generally the units/wards performed well during the assessments and evaluations. There were still units without emergency trolleys, trolleys that were poorly assessed, and those that were obstructed and registered nurses that had a negative perception to the audit of the emergency trolley. Specialized units such as NICU and Hi-Care Hospital A and Prem Unit Hospital B performed very well in their assessments. Development of policy with regards to assessing, restocking and maintenance of emergency supplies can be used to guide the nurses on what to do. Resuscitation morbidity and mortality meetings in order to identify issues and outcomes surround resuscitation incidences within the unit or ward.

Assessment of cardiopulmonary resuscitation equipment in resuscitation trolleys in district hospitals in Botswana: A cross-sectional study

“…In some wards, the AEDs were either missing or shared between two wards. Similar situations have been reported in Namibia 12,13 and South Africa. 14 Adequate number of electrical and hardware spare parts and batteries should be always kept in the trolley because the concept of resuscitation trolleys was developed to maximise efficiency in critical situations.…”

“…The overall availability of drugs and equipment in the four district hospitals ranged from 19% to 31.1%, far below the ideal 100% availability. Similar findings of low proportions of CPR equipment in resuscitation trolleys have been reported in studies conducted in the United Kingdom, 17 Sri Lanka, 23 Namibia 13 and Ghana. 11 Critical care units had a better distribution of CPR equipment compared to other wards included in our study.…”

“…Deficiencies in the availability and the maintenance of resuscitation equipment have been widely reported in the literature. 7,9 Studies conducted in various African countries (Botswana, 10 Ghana, 11 Kenya, 12 Namibia 13 and South Africa 14 ) as well as Asia (Thailand, 15 India 16 ), the United Kingdom 17 and the United States 18 indicate that the non-availability of equipment and drugs in the resuscitation trolley causes delay in initiating CPR.…”

<p>Availability of Emergency Drugs and Essential Equipment in Intensive Care Units in Hospitals of Ethiopia: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study</p>

“…Every effort should be made to be able to streamline the restocking of used or missing items required on the emergency trolley. [11][12][13][14][15] Ethiopia is one of the countries with inadequate health care facilities, equipment, human power resource, and emergency trolley guidelines. [16][17][18][19][20][21] Hospital ICUs should have immediate access to the emergency trolley.…”

“…The trolley needs regular checking, maintenance, and replacement of equipment. 13,[22][23][24] Studies on emergency drugs and equipment preparedness in ICUs are limited in developing countries like Ethiopia. This study aims to assess the availability of emergency drugs and essential equipment in ICUs in hospitals in Ethiopia.…”