Patient safety during surgery in operating rooms is an essential part of patient care. Surgery is a risky procedure, with medical errors that could occur in the environment. For this reason, personnel must pay attention to some of these errors as some of them are preventable. Surgeons are a vital part of a patient’s procedures; they play an essential role in ensuring the frequency of surgical errors or harm as their results are significantly reduced. Throughout the distinct phases of the operation, there are precautions surgeons must take during the procedures, not only for their patients’ sake but also for theirs. Preventive measures taken during the sign-in, time out all the way to sign out, can be used to improve safety measures and the outcome of the procedure. The following is a surgical precaution checklist surgeons must consider.
- Hand hygiene
For surgeons, hand hygiene is the most crucial precaution when taking on a procedure. There are handy hygiene practices surgeons must undertake before they even walk into the OR and surgery commences. Surgeons must perform a surgical hand scrub to prevent the spread of any infections among patients before putting on their surgical gloves.
2. Wearing personal protective equipment
PPE (personal protective equipment) is wearable equipment designed to protect surgeons from exposure to or contact with infectious agents. The surgeons are required to wear PPE, which covers their clothing and skin from potential infectious material. Protective gear like masks, gloves, reusable or disposable gowns, face shields, and eye gear was meant to protect skin from splashes generated during surgery. The variety for all equipment has grown over the year due to demand, with the help of sites like unigloves.co.uk you can find the right pair of gloves, whatever your need or profession is.
3. Overseeing the time out before the procedure
Before surgery can commence, the operative team is charged with the preprocedural verification process and marking the operative site. However, it is the surgeon’s responsibility to oversee the final assessment. He or she should head the operating team in ensuring the right patient, surgical area, and procedure are correctly identified before surgery starts.
4. Maintain a positive pressure system
The risk of infection during surgery is very high, especially open surgery. To control the risk of infection, it is essential to keep air from entering the operating room by maintaining a positive pressure system. By reducing the frequency of door openings in the operating room, you can minimize the risk of sight infections. Door counters for operating rooms that sense and count door opening in the OR effectively maintain a positive pressure system. The hospital and surgeons can work together to determine which is best for their operating rooms between the electric door counter or magnetic door counter,
5. Review of the surgical plan
During surgery, each member of the surgical team is tasked with reviewing their plan for the procedure. The surgeon should look through the surgical plan to ensure everything is in order. The surgeon will also collaborate with the nurse to ensure all devices and other special equipment are ready.
6. Fit testing
Ensuring your mask and other protective equipment fit is paramount. If you have an aerosol-generating procedure liaison with the OR nurse to ensure respirators, facemasks, and other PPE resources are a perfect fit. Surgeons should have fit testing of the gear before surgery to ensure they are PPE are the correct size, as it will ensure there are no safety slip-ups during surgery that could expose them to infections.
7. Handy hygiene after surgery
After the procedure, the surgeons should remove the PPE before leaving the operating room, discard all the disposable gear appropriately. Surgeons should follow the local policy for surgical gear when getting rid of the used protective equipment. It is also crucial for surgeons to hand scrub after the procedure to eliminate any germs and prevent the risk of infection. To clean their hands, they should use clean water and handwashing soap which could be anti-bacterial. In some a
Surgeons hold the lives of many patients in their hands. The success of their surgery depends not only on the success of the procedures but also on the precautions they take before the incision is made until closing. Therefore, it is expected for surgeons to take precautions to ensure both they and their patients are protected. This article highlights some precautions surgeons should consider to ensure theirs and patients’ safety.