Change and the NHS are synonymous; it is inevitable that new ways of working are explored to ensure an effective service. This article explores the possibility of using nonmedically trained anaesthetists in the operating theatre. It examines a current pilot being undertaken by the NHS Changing Workforce Programme (DoH 2002a) and discusses how much impact this is likely to have in theatre.
The increased use of complementary and alternative medicine within our society requires us as professionals to educate our patients and ourselves as to the potential risks of taking herbs and vitamins. Herbs may be natural, but natural does not always equate to safe, and so this article provides a review of the literature and potential risks that herbs pose to surgery. Therefore we should encourage patients and health professionals alike to consider herbs as natural drugs and treat accordingly.
First assistant or advanced scrub practitioner roles have been undertaken by nurses since Florence Nightingale. Recently, theatre practitioners have undertaken this role as a matter of course, regardless of skill level. The Countess of Chester Hospital Theatres has produced the IS3 110 operating theatre first assistant module at level three. This runs alongside an in-house pathway of rapid evaluation of competence. Both are undertaken as work-based learning.
Laser and electrocautery devices used during surgery produce smoky emissions that may contain vapours and particulate aerosols, which can have a chemical and biological impact on those exposed. A group of theatre staff and specialist nurses at Rotherham District General Hospital got together to draw up a risk assessment into the possible occupational exposure of theatre staff, with a view to eliminating or controlling these hazards as far as possible.
In this article, Tony Fisher explores the background to autotransfusion and how recent advances in equipment and techniques have facilitated intraoperative cell salvage, thus reducing the need for homologous transfusion.
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