TheatrePracticeStandardsGeneric1

Generic Theatre Standard No 31 - The Management of Staff who are
expectant and new mothers
Standard Statement: Expectant Mothers (Staff) Working in the Perioperative Environment
1. Duty of the Employee
The Employee who is an expectant mother: as soon as is reasonably practicable, the
employee has a duty to inform her line manager and the occupational health department.
This must be confirmed in writing so that the line manager can make provision for maternity
leave and arrange for a risk assessment to take place.
2. Duty of the Employer
• Theatre Manager has a responsibility to ensure that potential hazards are assessed by
a risk assessment.
• Ensure that all members of their staff have received information, instruction and
training appropriate to their job responsibilities.
• To ensure a planned service routine takes place for anaesthetic vaporizers and
documentation to prove this is available.
• Potential pollution from waste anaesthetic gases must be regularly monitored and
documentation on results must be available.
• Health and Safety Services: To provide advice and guidance to managers and
individual employees on the health and safety aspects of hazards and risks associated
with pregnancy and breastfeeding.
• To liaise with managers across departmental boundaries in the provision of advice and
guidance that may facilitate the resolution of any outstanding hazards/risks identified.
• To monitor and audit the effectiveness of the policy and risk assessment system.
• Occupational Health Department: To provide advice and guidance to employees
on occupational health issues that they may encounter at work when a new,
expectant or breast feeding mother.
3. Anaesthetic Gasses
• The highest levels of pollution in paediatric anaesthesia can occur at induction and on
recovery but, with good air conditioning, the occupational exposure limit levels quickly
return to normal.
• Using a laryngeal mask airway in-patients undergoing ventilation is not necessarily
associated with high concentrations of waste gases, providing the air conditioning is
running at 20 air changes per hour
• The Department of Health (NHS Executive 1996) published advice on the exposure
standards for anaesthetic agents. In certain clinical settings (e.g. paediatric, ear, nose
and throat procedures), and for the recovery practitioner working close to the patient,
exposure levels will be higher. A risk assessment must be undertaken and may require
that the expectant mother is removed from the clinical area, particularly in the first 12
weeks of pregnancy.
• The risks of leaks of anaesthetic agents must be minimised:
o
o
Anaesthetic equipment should fit the patient correctly (e.g. face masks for
children).
Gases should only flow during anaesthesia, turned on at induction and turned
off on completion of anaesthetic.
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