Chapter 17: Vascular access devices: insertion and management
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Clinical governance
Some nurses insert ports (Hadaway [194], Pittiruti et al. [375]), and many are responsible for accessing and deaccessing ports. It is vital that the needle is placed in the port because if it is not, there is a risk of the medications extravasating or infiltrating. Therefore, any nurse who wishes to access ports must undergo specific training to gain the necessary knowledge and skills to select the correct type and length of needle and access the port successfully with little patient discomfort (NMC [356]).
