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Showing results for tags 'Operating theatre / recovery'.
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Content ArticleTeamwork in the operating room is very important for high-quality patient care. It has been shown that increased team member familiarity predicts improved teamwork and is associated with shared mental models and mutual trust, which are in turn important factors for team effectiveness. The aim of this study in Surgery was to investigate the relationship between team member familiarity and perceived team effectiveness in operating room teams. The authors found that greater team member familiarity predicts greater team effectiveness, and this relationship is mediated by shared mental models. They concluded that training should be aimed at these aspects of team functioning to optimise team performance in the operating room.
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Content Article
The original National Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures (NatSSIPs) were published in 2015. In 2023 the standards were revised (NatSSIPs 2) with the Centre for Perioperative Care (CPOC), with a focus on bolstering of the organisational standards (people, processes and performance) in addition to the sequential steps that teams follow. The standards are intended to share the learning and best practice to support multidisciplinary teams and organisations to deliver safer care. Patient Safety Learning spoke to Annie Hunningher and Claire Morgan about the changes to the revised NatSSIPs 2, how NatSSIPs 2 is being implemented and what more needs to be done to promote and engage leadership for action. -
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Engagement with patient & public networks
Patient Safety Learning posted an event in Community Calendar
untilThe Centre for Perioperative Care (CPOC) progresses a number of innovative and exciting collaborations with its patient facing partners since its origin in 2019. This webinar is designed to bring together lay and patient representation from both its Board and Advisory Group partners, as well as patient organisations and charities. The aim is to understand better the needs of patient and public engagement from a perioperative perspective. The webinar will include presentations from speakers investigating the Psychological and Behavioural science backgrounds of patients’ needs and wants, as well as patientvoices@RCOA. There will be an opportunity to develop these ideas in breakout groups to produce a consensus statement which CPOC will use to further develop the patient facing perioperative strategy. Considering the increasing waiting times that patients are having to process, while seeing their conditions potentially deteriorate, this is an opportunity to bring like-minded voices together to benefit patient outcomes within the UK. Further information -
Content Article
5 steps to safer surgery audit tool
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Surgery
Shared with the hub, this audit tool is designed to assess theatre compliance with the five-steps to safer surgery, which includes the World Health Organisation (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist. The checks included in the five steps are designed to reduce the number of errors and complications resulting from surgical procedures by improving team communication and by verifying and checking essential care interventions. -
Content Article
Surgical Burns Action Group
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Preventing surgical burns
The Surgical Burns Action Group (SBAG) is a leading reference point for conversations around surgical burn and fire prevention. The SBAG consolidates clinical and patient support to remove the significant gaps in the NHS’ reporting of surgical burns, ensuring patients are properly informed on the risk of a fire, and clinicians on the necessary safety requirements. The SBAG website includes useful information and materials about surgical fires and burns. -
Content ArticleFrom 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2019, NHS Resolution were notified of 631 clinical negligence claims relating to surgical burns to patients. Out of these 631 claims, 459 were settled, 58 were unmeritorious and 114 are still open. This has led to NHS Resolution paying £13.9m in damages and legal costs on behalf of NHS organisations.
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Theatres & Decontamination Conference
Patient Safety Learning posted an event in Community Calendar
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National NatSSIPs Network
Patient Safety Learning posted an event in Community Calendar
untilNHS England is currently seeking views on whether the existing Never Events Framework remains an effective mechanism to drive patient safety improvement. Never Events are defined as patient safety incidents that are ‘wholly preventable because guidance or safety recommendations that provide strong systemic protective barriers are available at a national level and should have been implemented by all healthcare providers’. This webinar, hosted by the National NatSSIPs Network and supported by Patient Safety Learning, will feature a panel discussion on the Never Events framework and the proposals set out in this consultation. The National NatSSIPs Network is a group of healthcare professionals aiming to reduce the number of patient safety incidents related to invasive procedures. Speakers: Helen Hughes Dr Annie Hunningher Dr Sam Machen Claire Cox Guest Speaker Guest Speaker Register- Posted
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Content ArticleFear of retaliation by leaders or colleagues can prevent staff from reporting adverse events, unsafe conditions, or near misses. This article presents strategies to improve just culture in the perioperative environment, which is prone to hierarchical structure. Strategies include creating an accessible reporting system, implementation of a "good catch" programme, and leadership support for staff who submit reports.
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Content ArticleThe National Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures (NatSSIPs) 2 are intended to help share learning and best practice to support multidisciplinary teams and organisations to deliver safer care. This two-page summary document, published by the Centre for Perioperative Care, provides a concise overview of NatSSIPs for anyone who does interventional procedures and the teams who support them.
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News Article
Researchers study brain activity of surgeons for signs of cognitive overload
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
It is a high-stakes scenario for any surgeon: a 65-year-old male patient with a high BMI and a heart condition is undergoing emergency surgery for a perforated appendix. An internal bleed has been detected, an anaesthetics monitor is malfunctioning and various bleepers are sounding – before an urgent call comes in about an ectopic pregnancy on another ward. This kind of drama routinely plays out in operating theatres, but in this case trainee surgeon Mary Goble is being put through her paces by a team of researchers at Imperial College London who are studying what goes on inside the brains of surgeons as they perform life-or-death procedures. Goble looks cool and collected as she laparoscopically excises the silicon appendix, while fending off a barrage of distractions. But her brain activity, monitored through a cap covered in optical probes, may tell a different story. The researchers, led by Daniel Leff, a senior researcher and consultant breast surgeon at Imperial College healthcare NHS Trust, are working to detect telltale signs of cognitive overload based on brain activity. In future, they say, this could help flag warning signs during surgery. “The operating theatre can be a very chaotic environment and, as a surgeon, you have to keep your head and stay calm when everyone is losing theirs,” said Leff. “As the cognitive load increases, it has major implications for patient safety. There’s no tool we can use to know that surgeon is coping with the cognitive demands of that environment. What happens when the surgeon is maxed out?” In the future, Leff envisages a system that could read out brain activity in real-time in the operating theatre and trigger an intervention if a surgeon is at risk of overload. Read full story Source: 2 March 2024 -
EventJoin us for a full day of education covering those topics that are the basis of our (or your) everyday practice. From risk management to infection control and patient care to practitioners wellbeing, leave the day informed, challenged and inspired. Book your tickets
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Content ArticlePatient harm, patient safety and their governance have been ongoing concerns for policymakers, care providers and the public. In response to high rates of adverse events/medical errors, the World Health Organization (WHO) advocated the use of surgical safety checklists (SSC) to improve safety in surgical care. Canadian health authorities subsequently made SSC use a mandatory organisational practice, with public reporting of safety indicators for compliance tied to pre-existing legislation and to reimbursements for surgical procedures. Perceived as the antidote for socio-technical issues in operating rooms (ORs), much of the SSC-related research has focused on assessing clinical and economic effectiveness, worker perceptions, attitudes and barriers to implementation. Suboptimal outcomes are attributed to implementations that ignored contexts. Using ethnographic data from a study of SSC at an urban teaching hospital (C&C), a critical lens and the concepts of ritual and ceremony, this paper examinse how it is used, and theorise the nature and implications of that use. Two rituals, one improvised and one scripted, comprised C&C’s SSC ceremony. Improvised performances produced dislocations that were ameliorated by scripted verification practices. This ceremony produced causally opaque links to patient safety goals and reproduced OR/medical culture. We discuss the theoretical contributions of the study and the implications for patient safety.
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Content ArticlePostoperative surgical site infection is a serious problem. Coverage of sterile goods may be important to protect the goods from bacterial air contamination while awaiting surgery. This study from Wistrand and colleagues, evaluated the effectiveness of this practice in a systematic review covering five databases using search terms related to bacterial contamination in the operating room and on surgical instruments. No negative effects regarding bacterial contamination were found and the authors conclude that protection with a sterile cover decreases bacterial air contamination of sterile goods while waiting for surgery to start.
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Content ArticleBibliometric analysis is a research technique that allows a macroscopic study of the literature surrounding a subject, enabling a prediction of themes that will arise in future research on the subject. In this book chapter, Hülya Saray Kiliç, Assistant Professor at the Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University in Turkey outlines the approach taken in his bibliometric analysis of patient safety in the operating room. His analysis anticipates that the following subjects will be explored in the coming years in relation to patient safety in the operating room. Technology integration and digital solutions Communication and team collaboration Patient education and information Staff training and skill development Risk management and error analysis
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Content Article
An innovative approach to managing behaviour in the operating room (OR) using posters with eye symbols has seen positive results. A team of Australian researchers conducted a successful trial to address offensive and impolite remarks within ORs by implementing ‘eye’ signage in surgical rooms. These posters, placed on the walls of an Adelaide orthopaedic hospital’s operating theatre without explanation, effectively reduced poor behaviour among surgical teams. The lead researcher, Professor Cheri Ostroff from the University of South Australia, attributed this outcome to a sense of being ‘watched’, even though the eyes are not real. The three-month experiment targeted a prevalent culture of bullying and misconduct in surgical settings, a problem pervasive not only in healthcare but across various high-stress industries. Professor Ostroff emphasised that besides affecting staff morale and productivity, rude behaviour also has a detrimental impact on patients, particularly in compromising teamwork and communication during surgery, potentially leading to poorer outcomes. -
Content ArticleOperating room black boxes are a way to capture video, audio, and other data in real time to prevent and analyse errors. This article from Campbell et al. presents the results of two studies on operating room staff's perspectives of black boxes. Quality improvement, patient safety, and objective case review were seen as the greatest potential benefits, while decreased psychological safety and loss of privacy (both staff and patient) were the most common concerns.
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News ArticleTheatre staff at a major hospital “deliberately slowed down” elective activity to limit the number of operations that could be done each day, an NHS England review has been told. The culture in theatres at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, run by East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust, was a “significant issue” according to an education quality intervention review report into trauma and orthopaedic training at the hospital. The review, dated October and made public by NHSE in December 2023, was launched after concerns were raised by staff at the trust in the General Medical Council’s national training survey, published every July. Problems raised by junior doctors and their supervisors to the NHSE review included perceptions that juniors were made to feel uncomfortable by the trauma theatre team and that there was also “animosity” from the trauma theatre team towards surgeons. The review said trauma theatre staff were heard “bragging” about their behaviour towards surgeons and that they resisted the number of cases scheduled on a list, claiming it was “unrealistic". Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 19 January 2024
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Operating Theatres Conference 2024
Sam posted an event in Community Calendar
NHS England have set out an ambitious three-year plan back in February 2022, aimed at tackling the surgical backlog that has reached a record high following the pandemic. With a major milestone on the horizon to reduce wait times over a year by March 2025, we take a look at the progress being made and how trusts around the country are collaborating in order to drive down waiting times. Join Salford Professional Development for their 9th annual conference where industry leading speakers from all corners of the healthcare sector will come together to dive into captivating discussions on the key issues operating theatres are currently facing, alongside how they are driving innovation and utilising technology to support their practices. Hear unravelling insights on how to enhance sustainability, boost surgery productivity, amplify effectiveness, and work together in order to drive down the surgical backlog, ensuring a person-centred approach. This isn't just theory – it's practical wisdom you can immediately apply to your own surgical team. Case study examples and our panel of experts will illustrate how teams have transformed their practice and brought innovative solutions into play such as the HVLC delivery, GIRFT, Robotics and Sustainability action plans, and how they are tackling challenges facing the trusts theatres and beyond. Register -
News ArticleHalf of surgeons in England have considered leaving the NHS amid frustration over a lack of access to operating rooms, a new survey shows. More than 3,000 surgeons contemplated quitting the health service in the last year, with two-thirds reporting burn out and work-related stress to be their main challenge, a new survey by the Royal College of Surgeons England has revealed. As the NHS tries to reduce the 7.61 million waiting list backlog, the survey, covering one quarter of all UK surgeons, found that 56% believe that access to operating theatres is a major challenge. RCS England president, Mr Tim Mitchell, said: “At a time when record waiting lists persist across the UK, it is deeply concerning that NHS productivity has decreased. “The reasons for this are multifactorial, but access to operating theatres and staff wellbeing certainly play a major part. If surgical teams cannot get into operating theatres, patients will continue to endure unacceptably long waits for surgery. “There is an urgent need to increase theatre capacity and ensure existing theatre spaces are used to maximum capacity. There is also a lot of work to be done to retain staff at all levels by reducing burnout and improving morale.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 18 January 2024
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Content Article
Latest issue of the Operating Theatre Journal
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Surgery
A monthly journal for all operating theatre staff covering surgical and anaesthesia news. -
News Article
London hospital cuts waiting lists with innovative system
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Surgeons at one London hospital are performing an entire week’s operations in a single day as part of a ground-breaking initiative that could help tackle the record waiting lists in the NHS. Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust has already slashed its own elective backlog in certain specialities by running monthly HIT (High Intensity Theatre) lists at weekends. Under the innovative model, two operating theatres run side by side and as soon as one procedure is finished the next patient is already under anaesthetic and ready to be wheeled in. Nurses are on standby to sterilise the operating theatre and instead of taking 40 minutes between cases it takes less than two, the only delay is the 30 second it takes for the anti-bacterial cleaning fluid to work. Kariem El-Boghdadly, the consultant anaesthetist who designed the programme with his colleague Imran Ahmad, compares it to a Formula One pit stop. “They’ve got one person doing the rear right wheel, one person doing the front left wheel. It’s the same thing. The operating theatre is effectively like that.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 10 December 2023 -
News Article
Rush to reduce elective backlog increasing ‘never events’, report finds
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Moving less complex procedures out of operating theatres and into other care settings to free up capacity to support elective recovery has ‘inadvertently’ increased the risk of ‘never events’ at an acute trust, a report has warned. The warning was made in a report into four never events at North Bristol Trust’s Southmead Hospital between November 2022 and January 2023 – two of which involved the same patient. The review was commissioned by Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire integrated care board to examine common issues in never events involving invasive procedures. It found an increase in never events when procedures were moved away from operating theatres to other care settings. The review found moving procedures from theatres to outpatient or day case facilities to “support the reduction in the [elective] backlog and improve the waiting times for patients… may also inadvertently increase the risk of never events”. It added: “It is likely that a theatre environment has more established and embedded safety control mechanisms. Governance processes in moving such procedures should consider the impact on quality, for example, the gaps between safety processes and consideration of the minimum requirements for the new procedure location.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 29 November 2023 -
News ArticleA patient was left traumatised when his body caught on fire halfway through surgery - leaving his insides scorched. Mark, 52, went to hospital for a routine abscess removal - but woke up to the news that a freak accident in theatre had sparked an horrific blaze. A diathermy machine, used to stop bleeding, caused a swab to catch fire - before flames burnt their way through his exposed flesh, Mark explained. It took over a year for Mark - not his real name - to recover from his dreadful injuries - and the emotional scarring it caused. Between 2008 and 2018, 37 cases were acknowledged by NHS trusts across Britain. But from 2009 to 2019, it has paid out nearly £14 million in compensation settlements and legal fees. Fires such as these are often fuelled by leaking oxygen - and are caused by faulty machinery or sparking equipment. Campaigners are concerned that UK hospitals are lagging behind other countries in recording surgical fires and introducing protocols to reduce both their frequency and severity. Theatre scrub nurse Kathy Nabbie has spent the past five years trying to make colleagues more aware of the threat of surgical fires. In 2017 - after hearing how a woman in Oregon, USA, had suffered severe burns when her face was set alight in surgery - she made a simple safety checklist. Her Fire Risk Assessment tool allowed colleagues to check for the presence of elements that together might cause a fire to break out. But senior staff failed to implement the initiative and - when a surgical fire actually took place three months later - Kathy learned that her laminated checklist had simply been put in a drawer. “I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “After that they did start using it, but why on earth should it have taken an actual fire to persuade them?” Read full story Source: The Sun, 7 April 2022 Further reading What can we do to improve safety in the theatre? Reflections from theatre nurse Kathy Nabbie How I raised awareness of fires in the operating theatre - Kathy Nabbie
