Critical care nurses' experiences of helicopter transfers

Background: Intensive care is conducted in intensive care units (ICUs), and also during the transportation of critically ill people. Aim: The aim of the study was to describe critical care nurses' (CCNs) experiences of nursing critically ill patients during helicopter transport. Participants: Seven CCNs, five women and two men participated in this study. Design: Seven participants from two centres in Sweden were recruited. The design uses an inductive, qualitative approach with data collected by means of qualitative interviews with seven CCNs. Methods: The interviews were transcribed verbatim and subjected to qualitative thematic content analysis. Results: The analysis resulted in one theme which is safe nursing care, but sometimes feeling afraid and six categories as follows: experiencing the care environment as an ICU with limited space; a loud environment complicates communication; planning and checking to minimize risks; experience and good co-operation; facing the dilemma of allowing relatives to accompany the patient or not; feeling the patient's and their own fear. Conclusion: CCNs plan for the transportation and control of patients to improve patient safety, but can sometimes feel afraid. Good co-operation is necessary. Relevance to clinical practice: The possibilities for CCNs to provide effective nursing care in helicopters are good, although in some cases limited by the environmental conditions.