Friday 23 October, Online

The National IV Therapy Summit 2026 will focus on improving practice and patient safety in vascular access and intravenous infusion therapy across hospital, community, OPAT and Hospital at Home services.

There will be a focus on implementing the 2026 National Standards for Vascular Access and Intravenous Infusion Therapy. The National Infusion and Vascular Access Society (NIVAS) is introducing new UK standards in 2026, featuring over 150 evidence-based standards covering device selection, insertion, care, and complication management and expected to be published in July 2026. These standards provide an important opportunity for NHS organisations to review practice, improve consistency, strengthen governance and ensure staff are competent and confident in the safe delivery of IV therapy. The Summit will support delegates to understand the new standards, assess current practice, identify gaps, and develop practical approaches to implementation.

Intravenous therapy is an essential part of modern healthcare, but it is not without risk. Poor device selection, delayed recognition of complications, inadequate training, inconsistent escalation, and variation in documentation or reporting can lead to avoidable harm. Infiltration and extravasation remain significant patient safety issues, with potential for pain, tissue damage, long-term injury and litigation. The Summit will provide a practical focus on prevention, early recognition, management, follow-up and learning from incidents and claims.

The conference will also examine the expansion of OPAT services, including COpAT, virtual wards, rapid response IV services and Hospital at Home. NHS England’s 2025 OPAT guidance emphasises the need for integrated OPAT and complex oral/parenteral antimicrobial therapy services, with clear governance, patient selection criteria, monitoring, documentation, quality assurance and education for staff delivering the service.

Delegates will have the opportunity to attend one of two focused streams:

Stream A: Improving Patient Safety in IV Therapy — Infiltration and Extravasation
This stream will focus on reducing avoidable harm from infiltration and extravasation through improved training, early recognition, escalation, treatment, follow-up, standardised reporting and learning from practice.

Stream B: Expanding and Improving Practice in OPAT Services
This stream will focus on developing safe, effective and sustainable OPAT, COpAT and community IV therapy services, including governance, competence, antimicrobial stewardship, Hospital at Home models, virtual wards, rapid response IV pathways and patient safety outside the hospital setting.

We are pleased to offer a 20% discount with code hcuk20emca

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