A message from The Chair

Firstly, I wanted to let you all know about the work plans NIVAS has for 2020 to support you all in clinical practice. The NIVAS board has already started work on our agenda for this year’s national conference which will take place around September, the date will be set very soon. We haven’t finalised the location city yet but we know it will be in the middle of the country. We have 2 projects this year that will be keeping us busy, the first is to produce some vascular access specific national guidelines which you can use to support your clinical practice. These guidelines will be evidence based and cover all aspects of vascular access and some areas of IV therapy. The intention is to produce detailed guidance which will focus on the device selection, insertion, care and maintenance and dealing with complications of vascular access and IV therapy in clinical practice. Throughout the year we will keep you updated about the progress of our new guidelines. Look out for emails from the board asking for your opinions and guidance.

The second project for 2020 will be the creation of a national, accredited vascular access course. If successfully completed, this course will give the candidate a recognised qualification in the theory and simulation of correct device selection, vascular access insertion, care and maintenance, and recognising and treating complications. This qualification can be used to show employers that IV nurses have standardised, nationally recognise, evidence-based skills and knowledge in our field of practice. The NIVAS board are still in the planning stage of the project and the final outline of the project hasn’t been agreed yet, once this has been agreed we contact you all for your feedback.

Last year was a productive year for NIVAS, we had a very well evaluated conference and we welcomed Dr James Bennett to the board. We also published the first version of our IV infusion flushing guidance. We produced the flushing guidance in response to you, our members request, the guidance was welcomed and well revived by most, however there have been some concerns voice by some healthcare professionals that the guidance didn’t go far enough in mandating a change in practice. The NIVAS board has been working on a version 2 of the flushing guidance and we have been working with the MEDUSA advisory board of which I am a member, to produce the second version. Since the first version publication there has been some addition evidenced published and this will be reflected in version 2. This new version should be read for publication in March 2020, but I can tell you all now that the NIVAS Board will be recommending the flushing of IV giving sets which will mean that option 1 of the guidance will be removed.

That’s all for now, please remember that if you have any questions for the board or the membership you can email us via the website. We are here to help and support you and I know that your all very good at supporting each other with the emails that you send in and reply to each other.

I will be in touch soon with the date and location of the 2020 conference and more information on the NIVAS study days throughout the year.

Best wishes

Andrew Barton, NIVAS Chair

Vascular Access Nurse of the Year Award

Winner: Julie Godfrey, Broomfield Hospital, PICC Service, MSB NHS Trust Services

To read about the event, please click on the link below

Welcome to NIVAS

Welcome to the website of NIVAS, the independent and multi-professional society specialising in vascular access and infusion therapies.

NIVAS is the first independent multi-professional society to be founded in the UK in this century. It is the new voice for all those involved in vascular access and infusion therapies. The society was founded in July 2009 in order to promote excellence in this specialised field of patient care. We believe that we can advance practice through communication, collaboration and education.

As infusion therapy and vascular access continues to evolve, there is a need, now more than ever, for a co-ordinated approach to practice amongst healthcare professionals across the UK. The formation of a society and an annual conference is vital to ensure success in the specialty and quality care for patients. NIVAS hopes to engage nurses, anaesthetists, radiologists, microbiologists, pharmacists and other health professionals involved in the insertion and management of vascular access and infusion therapy.

NIVAS recognises the important role that you as an individual can play in advancing this specialty and would encourage your involvement with the society.

Tweets from NIVAS Conference 2019

Published: April 03, 2019

Vascular Access Nurse of the Year Award

Published: April 08, 2015

New from NICE: Guidance and support to help position catheters in veins