["Ensuring patient safety is one of our primary responsibilities." - Results of a qualitative study on maintaining safety in ventilation-associated technical aid supply].

BACKGROUND

Maintaining safety is critical in home mechanical ventilation (HMV). It is co-determined by the availability of reliable technical aids and their correct application. Ensuring safe aid supply is part of the aid providers'́ legal mandate. However, whether and how this is achieved is largely unknown. Therefore, the tasks of technical aid providers, associated requirements and challenges with special regards to educational and safety aspects were investigated.

METHODS

For this purpose, episodic interviews were conducted between July and December 2020 with a purposive sample of field representatives of eleven technical aid providers. Between one and six persons participated in each of the interviews, resulting in a total sample of 25 persons (14 field representatives without management function, ten with management function, one director). Given the conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, six interviews took place face-to-face and five as web meetings. Interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis.

RESULTS

From the interviewees'́ perspective, the most important safety-related measure is the legally required and individually tailored initial instruction in a safe aid application. Additional safety-related tasks comprise counselling, e. g. for prescribing physicians and users (patients, relatives, nursing service employees), regular home visits, and the provision of a technical emergency service. Interviewees indicate that safety risks emerge primarily from a lack of skills and a high staff turnover among professional caregivers. This, they state, challenges building up and maintaining competencies among nursing staff. Other safety risks arise from healthcare fragmentation, lacking coordination, cooperation, and accountability of the professionals involved. Respondents address these challenges pragmatically by providing additional services, like ongoing caregiver training, care coordination and support roles.

DISCUSSION

Maintaining safety in ventilation-associated technical aid supply must be considered a crucial component of the overall HMV care processes, in which safety currently cannot be taken for granted. Field representatives of technical aid providers address the existing challenges with selective and intuitive strategies, some of which exceed their legal mandate.

CONCLUSION

Improving safety in home care can be supported by establishing Advanced Nursing Practice roles in nursing services. The systematic further development of roles and tasks of staff of technical aid providers should be clarified within an overarching discourse on viable approaches to cross-sectoral and interprofessional HMV care.