Summary

In study session IV you have learnt

• A hazard is a situation that poses a level of threat to life, health, property, or environment. Anesthesia and surgery are conducted in technologically intense environments that are always potentially hazardous.
• The most common hazards in operating room include fires and explosion, static electricity, electrical hazards, radiation injury, air pollution and power failure.
• Fires and explosions can cause death or injury to the patient in the theatre. Spark or a hot surface, flammable substance and source of oxygen cause fire.
• Sources of sparks or heat include static electricity, faulty electrical switches and apparatus, plaster cutters and drills, dirt or grease in the oxygen cylinders, diathermy and open flames.
• A static electric charge occurs if two materials which conduct electricity poorly are brought into contact and then separated. Precaution should be taken to prevent static electricity and other causes of fire
• Electric shock occurs when the body actually becomes part of an electrical circuit with significant current flowing in it. Wiring defects, faulty equipment components and deteriorated insulation all allow abnormally high currents to flow in otherwise safe systems.
• Risk is the potential that a chosen action or activity will lead to a loss or an undesirable outcome. It is ubiquitous, natural part of life, because everything we do, including doing nothing, poses an uncertain outcome. Anesthesia risk connotes an undesirable or negative occurrence, such as death or injury.
• Some specific hazards associated with anesthesia include errors related to airway management, monitoring, and sudden cardiac arrest during spinal anesthesia, equipment failures, or nerve injuries.
• Patient safety is the avoidance, prevention, and amelioration of adverse outcomes or injuries stemming from the processes of healthcare. Patient safety is a subset of healthcare quality.
• Practically patient safety is maintained by maintaining vigilance and monitoring patient throughout the procedure, working in team, performing preoperative assessment and adequately prepare according to plan, monitoring patient throughout the procedures, avoiding errors, adherence to aseptic technique and follow the standards of crisis management.
• To assist operating teams in reducing the number of events, including inadequate anesthetic safety practices, avoidable surgical infection and poor communication among team members, using WHO Surgical Safety Checklist used as a tool to improve safety and reduce unnecessary surgical deaths and complications.