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Transfusion audits
Page contents: Transfusion audit 2011 | Transfusion audit 2010 | Transfusion audit 2009 | Transfusion audits 2005-2008Transfusion audit - 2011
Audit of blood transfusion policy, procedures and administration practice 2011
Extension for data collection and submission to Audit from 18 July 2011 to 8th August 2011
Blood and blood components are administered by a range of staff across hospitals. Access to and knowledge of hospital protocols for blood administration is important for patient safety and organisational risk management. This audit includes both the initial specimen collection for crossmatch and subsequent administration of blood product at the bedside.
The Blood Matters Advisory Committee has identified the area of blood product administration policy and practice as an area for targeted desk and clinical audits in order to determine current practice across the State.
Definition of Policy and Procedure
The policy/procedure document refers to a document that is for hospital-wide use and that is authorised in accordance with hospital clinical policy/procedure processes for such documents [e.g. the hospital executive or delegate is responsible for authorising the document(s)].
Instructions and data collection forms
Instructions and forms for local data collection have been forwarded to hospitals and can also be downloaded if required and are located below.
Instructions for the audit of blood transfusion policy, procedures and administration practice Form: Audit of hospital-wide policy and procedure(s) for blood transfusion – template to complete at desk Form: Prospective Audit of Blood Product Administration Practice – template to complete at bedside
Form: audit of hospital blood product administration practice: one page template
Frequently asked questions
Step-by-step guide to completing the Prospective Audit of Blood Product Administration Practice
Data submission
All data is to be submitted electronically through the Blood Matters website.
Audit of Blood Product Administration Practice
Policy and Procedure(s) for Blood Transfusion
Transfusion audit - 2010
Survey of blood storage & handling
Adequate transportation, handling and storage of blood and blood products has an important impact on the safety and quality of transfused blood products. Anecdotal reports suggested that there is variation in product transport and storage in Victorian hospitals, particularly in regional centres and smaller metropolitan private hospitals.
In 2005 The Better Safer Transfusion (BeST) Advisory Committee identified a need to determine current storage and handling practice in regional centres and smaller metropolitan private hospitals in order to identify opportunities for improvement.
The references used for best practice were:
- Australian Standard AS 3864-1997 Medical refrigeration equipment – for the storage of blood and blood products,
- ANZSBT Guidelines for pretransfusion testing 5th edition 2007
- National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) Application Document ISO/IEC 15189, Supplementary requirements for accreditation in the field of medical testing 2005
- National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) AS 4633 (ISO 15189) Field Application Document Amendment Sheet Medical testing 2009
- Guide to the preparation, use and quality assurance of blood components, 15th edition, Council of Europe Publishing.
Survey aims
To improve the safety of transfusion by promoting appropriate storage and handling of blood and blood products (red blood cells and fresh frozen plasma).- Identify current storage and handling practices in the surveyed sample.
- To identify any barriers to the implementation of best practice storage and handling practices in Victorian hospitals.
See information sheet below for more information.
Blood storage and handling survey information sheet
Form: Blood storage and handling survey
Frequently asked questions
Participants completing the survey have raised a number of questions - see current transfusion audit FAQs.
Transfusion audit - 2009
Clinical Audit of Red Blood Cell Use in Orthopaedic Surgery
Red cell transfusions are required to increase the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood by raising the haemoglobin concentration. Previous studies have shown variation in clinical practice in the transfusion of red cells.
Form: Clinical Audit of Red Blood Cell Use
Clinical Audit of Platelet Use
Platelet transfusion is indicated for the prevention and treatment of haemorrhage in patients with thrombocytopenia or platelet function defects. Studies have shown variation in clinical practice in the transfusion of platelets.
Form: Clinical Audit of Platelet Use
Transfusion audits 2005-2008: Archived audits
Previous transfusion audits from 2005-2008 include:
- Audit of blood transfusion policy, procedures and administration practice
- Clinical audit of fresh frozen plasma
- Clinical audit of red blood cell use in orthopaedic surgery
- Blood storage and handling survey
- Clinical Audit of Platelet Use
- Clinical Audit of Cryoprecipitate Use
Templates of audit tools for these audits is available on request from the Blood Matters program:
Email: bloodmatters@health.vic.gov.au
Telephone: (61 3) 9096 9037
