Quality Standards: Community hospitals care equipment and drug lists

Healthcare organisations have an obligation to provide a high-quality resuscitation service, and to ensure that staff are trained and updated regularly to a level of proficiency appropriate to each individual’s expected role.

As part of the quality standards for cardiopulmonary resuscitation practice and training this document provides lists of the minimum equipment and drugs required for cardiopulmonary resuscitation in settings that deliver community hospitals care. These lists are categorised according to the clinical setting.

The equipment and drug lists on this page are in reference to the Community Hospitals Care Quality Standards.

The core standards for the provision of cardiopulmonary resuscitation across all healthcare settings are described in the Introduction and Overview to Quality Standards. 

Drug tables for cardiac arrest are highlighted in the text with the symbol !

1. All clinical service providers must ensure that their staff have immediate access to appropriate resuscitation equipment and drugs to facilitate rapid resuscitation of the patient in cardiorespiratory arrest. The standard defibrillator sign should be used in order to reduce delay in locating a defibrillator in an emergency.
2. All settings must have a means of calling for help (e.g. landline telephone [internal or external], mobile telephone with reliable signal, or alarm bell).
3. Standardisation of the equipment used for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (including defibrillators and emergency suctioning equipment), and the layout of equipment and drugs throughout an organisation is recommended.
4. It is recognised that planning for every eventuality is complex, therefore, organisations must undertake a risk assessment to determine what resources are required given their local circumstances. Risk factors to consider include patient group (e.g. adults, children), incidence of cardiac arrest, training of staff, and access to expert help.
   • a) Community hospitals may need special provisions (e.g. for failed intubation, tracheostomy care, cardiac arrest in pregnancy etc.).
   • b) Some settings need a wide range of equipment immediately available (e.g. resuscitation room in emergency department). Suggested options include having basic equipment (and possibly drugs) available immediately (on a resuscitation trolley), and further equipment and drugs arriving with a resuscitation team (in a ‘grab-bag’), or in some settings as part of an ambulance response.
   • c) Staff should be trained to use the available equipment according to their expected roles.
5. Depending on the organisation, this risk assessment must be overseen by a Resuscitation Service Structure or a designated resuscitation lead. Expert advice should also be sought locally from those regularly involved in resuscitation (e.g. resuscitation officers, emergency physicians, cardiac care unit staff, intensivists, anaesthetists, prehospital care physicians).
6. Resuscitation equipment should be single-patient-use and latex-free, whenever possible and appropriate. Where non-disposable equipment is used, a clear policy for decontamination after each use must be available and must be followed.
7. Personal protective equipment (e.g. gloves, aprons, eye protection) and sharps boxes must be available, based on a local risk assessment and local polices.
8. A reliable system of equipment checks and replacement must be in place to ensure that equipment and drugs are always available for use in a cardiac arrest. The frequency of checks should be determined locally.
9. It is recommended that equipment and drugs are presented in a clear and logical manner to enable easier use during an emergency.
10. The manufacturer’s instructions must be followed regarding use, storage, servicing and expiry of equipment and drugs.
11. Further equipment and drugs may be needed to manage other types of emergencies that are likely to be encountered in a particular setting; this may include:
    • monitoring equipment (e.g. blood pressure, pulse oximetry, 3-lead electrocardiogram [ECG], temperature, waveform capnography);
    • 12-lead ECG recorder;
    • near-patient tests (e.g. blood glucose, blood gas analysis).
12. A formal procurement process that includes trialling of equipment before purchase is recommended. Trialling of resuscitation equipment can take place in actual care settings or in simulated patient scenarios.
13. The precise availability of equipment and drugs should be determined locally. The lists include a suggestion on the immediacy with which equipment and drugs should be available:
    • Immediate – available for use within the first minutes of cardiorespiratory arrest (i.e. at the start of the resuscitation).
    • Accessible – available for prompt use when the need is determined by the resuscitation team.
14. These lists are not exhaustive. Local experts should be consulted to ensure the appropriate equipment and drugs are available when they are needed, to enable provision of high-quality attempted resuscitation.

The equipment and drug lists in this chapter are for adult community hospitals care. 

Drug tables for cardiac arrest are highlighted in the text with the symbol !

The equipment and drug lists in this chapter are for paediatric community hospitals care. 

Drug tables for cardiac arrest are highlighted in the text with the symbol !