- To identify and rectify potential causes of ventilation problems in a sequential and structured manner.
- Any ventilated patient MUST be escorted by either a doctor or nurse whom has sufficient knowledge of the operation of the ventilator and knows what to do in the case of ventilator malfunction.
- If an officer finds themselves in a situation where a ventilator malfunctions during a transfer, they may be required to assist with the checking procedure.
Critical points for Patient Care Record Form:
- Type of ventilator.
- Reason for ventilating patient.
- Patient’s main presenting problem and present condition.
- Care given before Officer’s arrival.
Checking for possible causes:
- Primary attendant (e.g. doctor/nurse) to check operation of ventilator
- Check ventilator tube for kinks.
- Check oxygen supply:
- Connection to outlet.
- Switch to spare 'D' size cylinder if required.
- Oxygen supply tube can be connected to the outlet on the front of the Oxy-Viva in place of flow-meter.
- If unable to locate fault then ventilation will need to be provided manually using the Bag-Valve-Mask (BVM) connected to an oxygen supply flow-meter with regular oxygen tubing.
- If on a ventilator, the patient will have an advanced airway in-situ, such as an Endotracheal Tube (ETT) or Supraglottic Airway (SGA). Medical personnel will need to secure the advanced airway before transitioning to the BVM.
- Disconnect ventilator tubing from breathing tube and connect BVM using right-angled flexible connector if available.
- Ventilate patient at appropriate rate; a doctor/nurse MAY ventilate, or request the officer ventilates, at rate different to those listed in the ventilation clinical skill.
- Ensure that the doctor/nurse confirms that the advanced airway is still in-situ and ventilations are adequate.
- Contact receiving facility to advise of ventilator malfunction.
Transport Priority 1.
D
Displacement
- Check etCO2 value/waveform.
- Look at tube position; does it look displaced?
- Auscultate the chest and epigastrium. If gurgling is audible, withdraw ETT immediately
- Assess/consider ETT cuff inflation, depth, or oesophageal intubation.
- Check placement after any move.
O
Obstruction
- Inability or severe resistance to ventilation is a very good indicator of obstruction.
- Clear Foreign Body Airway Obstruction
P
Pneumothorax
- Consider the signs and symptoms of pneumothorax/haemothorax.
- Consider ventilator settings.
E
Equipment Failure
- Consider failure of equipment starting from the oxygen cylinder straight through to the ETT and back again.
S
Secretions
- Thick mucus might obstruct ETT.
- Suction
- Restoration of effective ventilation/oxygenation
| Settings | |
|---|---|
| Extended Care: | |
| Colour assist: | |
Document Control
Clinical Resources Website
St John Ambulance Western Australia Ltd (ABN 55 028 468 715) (St John WA) operates ambulance and other pre-hospital clinical services. St John WA’s Clinical Resources, including its Clinical Practice Guidelines (Clinical Resources), are intended for use by credentialed St John WA staff and volunteers when providing clinical care to patients for or on behalf of St John WA, within the St John WA Clinical Governance Framework, and only to the extent of the clinician’s authority to practice.
Other users – Terms of Use
The content of the St John WA Clinical Resources is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to serve as health, medical or treatment advice. Any user of this website agrees to be bound by these Terms of Use in their use of the Clinical Resources.
St John WA does not represent or warrant (whether express, implied, statutory, or otherwise) that the content of the Clinical Resources is accurate, reliable, up-to-date, complete or that the information contained is suitable for your needs or for any particular purpose. You are responsible for assessing whether the information is accurate, reliable, up-to-date, authentic, relevant, or complete and where appropriate, seek independent professional advice.
St John WA expressly prohibits use of these Clinical Resources to guide clinical care of patients by organisations external to St John WA, except where these organisations have been directly engaged by St John WA to provide services. Any use of the Clinical Resources, with St John WA approval, must attribute St John WA as the creator of the Clinical Resources and include the copyright notice and (where reasonably practicable) provide a URL/hyperlink to the St John WA Clinical Resources website.
No permission or licence is granted to reproduce, make commercial use of, adapt, modify or create derivative works from these Clinical Resources. For permissions beyond the scope of these Terms of Use, including a commercial licence, please contact medservices@stjohnambulance.com.au
Where links are provided to resources on external websites, St John WA:
- Gives no assurances about the quality, accuracy or relevance of material on any linked site;
- Accepts no legal responsibility regarding the accuracy and reliability of external material; and
- Does not endorse any material, associated organisation, product or service on other sites.
Your use of any external website is governed by the terms of that website, including any authorisation, requirement or licence for use of the material on that website.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, St John WA excludes liability (including liability in negligence) for any direct, special, indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive, exemplary or other loss, cost, damage or expense arising out of, or in connection with, use or reliance on the Clinical Resources (including without limitation any interference with or damage to a user’s computer, device, software or data occurring in connection with such use).
Cookies
Please read this cookie policy carefully before using Clinical Resources from St John WA.
The cookies used on this site are small and completely anonymous pieces of information and are stored on your computer or mobile device. The data that the cookies contain identify your user preferences (such as your preferred text size, scope / skill level preference and Colour Assist mode, among other user settings) so that they can be recalled the next time that you visit a page within Clinical Resources. These cookies are necessary to offer you the best and most efficient possible experience when accessing and navigating through our website and using its features. These cookies do not collect or send analytical information back to St John WA.
Clinical Resources does integrate with Google Analytics and any cookies associated with this service enable us (and third-party services) to collect aggregated data for statistical purposes on how our visitors use this website. These cookies do not contain personal information such as names and email addresses and are used to help us improve your user experience of the website.
If you want to restrict or block the cookies that are set by our website, you can do so through your browser setting. Alternatively, you can visit www.internetcookies.com, which contains comprehensive information on how to do this on a wide variety of browsers and devices. You will find general information about cookies and details on how to delete cookies from your device. If you have any questions about this policy or our use of cookies, please contact us.