This guideline has been developed to provide nursing and medical staff with practical advice for the correct routine care and maintenance of Central venous access devices (CVADs) – PICC Lines, Hickman® Lines, non-tunnelled central venous lines and Portacaths® to promote positive patient outcomes.

Please be aware that reading this guideline does not deem staff competent in using these devices. Prior to working with CVADs, staff must undertake the e-learning module on LearnPro ‘Care and Maintenance of Central Venous Access Devices’ and, following this, staff must access a relevant mentor who has been deemed competent in the use of CVADs. They will supervise and assess practice using the central venous access resource pack which will have been completed during the e-learning module. Staff must adhere to these guidelines.

This guideline should enable any competent registered nurse or doctor to provide support and care to children and young people with a CVAD within NHS Ayrshire & Arran. This guideline should be used for advice on changing the dressing, flushing CVADs, blood sampling, commencing and discontinuing an infusion and includes a trouble shooting guide. Staff should adhere to these guidelines to ensure best practice across NHS Ayrshire & Arran.