TheatrePracticeStandardsGeneric1

6. Staffing of elective/scheduled operating lists
• Electronic Management and Production of Staff Rosters Policy
• All planned operating sessions are staffed on nationally recommended AfPP
staffing guidelines to ensure minimum safe staffing levels at all times
• At times when due to short notice absence staffing levels fall short of the
recommended minimum safe staffing requirement the Theatre Manager / Clinical
matron will review all areas and redeploy staff as appropriate to maintain service
and patient safety.
• A risk assessment approach will be utilised to mitigate any shortfall in numbers or
skill mix.
• Staff may be requested to move to work in an alternative area to that allocated at
short notice to respond to staff number or skill mix shortfalls. This is a reasonable
management request and staff are expected to comply.
• Where staff are requested to travel between trust sites for this reason, allowance
will be made for the travelling time and all costs will be reimbursed through the
trust travel claim system in line with the Trust Travel Subsistence Policy.
• Where staff have no means of personal travel a taxi will be provided at a cost to
the trust.
• Following a risk assessment and agreement with the Divisional Management Team
the Theatre Manager may feel it is appropriate to reduce the skill mix of a lower
acuity list to mitigate against patient cancellation.
7. Sending For Patients
• Elective operating lists will be compiled in advance by the appropriate booking
coordinator, in consultation with senior members of the theatre staff wherever possible.
• Elective lists should be available the day prior to surgery, to allow theatre staff to plan
instrumentation, prostheses and staffing appropriately.
• Specific instrument or prosthetic requirements that need to be arranged in advance,
must be notified to the Senior Theatre Practitioner responsible for that specialty as far
in advance
• On the morning of surgery, theatre reception will phone to ensure that bed space is
available for all patients, confirm ward allocation and inform the relevant theatre of any
problems.
• The first patient of each operating session will be sent for automatically according to
the planned start time for each list. Should there be any delay to the projected start
time for afternoon sessions, theatre staff will inform reception to prevent the patient
being sent for inappropriately.
• Subsequent patients are requested as required, via theatre reception.
• Emergency patients are done in order of clinical priority and are sent for directly by the
Emergency Theatre Coordinator, who will phone the ward in advance to ensure that
each patient is ready for collection.
• Cases must not be sent for after 3pm without the prior consent of the Theatre
Coordinator.
• The Theatre coordinator must be informed of any additions to scheduled operating
lists, and of any other problems arising.
• Only the Theatre Coordinator has the authority to cancel patients due to lack of
operating time.
• Cancellations due to lack of theatre time must be escalated in line with section 1.
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