Patient safety and infection control in operation theatre: A prospective observational study in a tertiary care hospital of India

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed to observe the various patient care processes pertaining to patient safety including infection control. Materials and Methods: A descriptive, prospective, observational, qualitative study was conducted in operation theatre (OT) complex of a tertiary care teaching hospital of North India from January to December 2016. Eleven operating rooms utilised for performing routine surgeries were included in the study. Non-participant observations were made by the single trained observer, and in-depth unstructured discussions were also held with the key stakeholders. One OT each for a full day per week was observed. Simple random sampling without replacement using chit system was used for selecting the OT and day of the week for data collection. Results: There are documented infection control guidelines which are being utilised for infection control. There is no patient safety committee, no guidelines on patient safety and no mechanism has been established for reporting of the patient safety incidents. Implementation of surgical safety checklist was inadequate and only nursing personnel filled it. There is a comprehensive training programme available for infection control among nursing staff only but not on patient safety. Only one adverse event was observed during the study period, in addition to four near misses. Conclusion: Culture of patient safety needs to be established, especially in critical areas such as OT. Mechanism needs to be developed for capturing data pertaining to patient safety and patient safety practices, especially implementation of surgical safety checklist need intense and sustained efforts.