Transfer of the critically ill adult patient

Patient transfer has resource ramifications and is an important public health issue. With increasing centralization of specialist services and the advent of regional trauma networks the requirement for patient transfer is ever present. Every year in the UK over 11,000 intensive care patients are transferred and the majority of these transfers are facilitated by a team from the transferring hospital as opposed to being carried out by a dedicated retrieval team.Transferring a critically ill patient is a process involving inherent risk, so prior preparation around planning for a safe transfer is essential both in terms of anticipating potential problems, mitigating against them and ensuring clear and timely communication with the accepting hospital and respective specialties responsible for the patient. In the longer term, training of staff is essential in order to reduce instances of harm to patients. This article provides an overview of the different types of patient transfer, the associated hazards, human factors around decision-making, communication, equipment and organization.