The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is calling on doctors and nurses across England and Wales to become better educated in how to safely care for patients who are given fluids through a drip (intravenous fluid therapy).
Although thousands of people are likely to need a drip in hospital, NICE says there is a lack of formal training, which is putting patients' lives at risk.
Experts agree this is a major concern - if a person receives too much or too little, or the wrong type of fluid, they could develop potentially life threatening complications.
Intravenous (IV) fluids are given to patients to prevent or correct problems associated with having too much or too little fluid and/or electrolytes in their bodies and it is thought that as many as one in five patients on IV fluids and electrolytes suffer complications due to their inappropriate administration, with deaths in some cases.
In new guidance, NICE recommends measures to improve education and training, including practical steps to make decision-making clearer, simpler and above all, safer.
Dr Mike Stroud, Consultant in Gastroenterology & General (Internal) Medicine at Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust, was Chair of the Guideline Development Group (GDG) which developed the recommendations on behalf of NICE. He said:
"It is generally recognised throughout the NHS that little formal training relating to intravenous fluid therapy exists for healthcare professionals and this is true for both students and for professionals who are more established in their careers. This needs to change since prescribing, administering and monitoring intravenous fluids correctly is a basic aspect of care.
“This new NICE guideline has training and education at its heart and will play a vital role in making sure that staff at all levels in the NHS deliver consistent, high-quality care for all patients."
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