SAFE ENVIRONMENT
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THEATRE DESIGN
Theatre Design Consideration:
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The prevention of wound infection.
The safety of patients and staff.
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Design Features

Designing a safe environment incorporates features
that prevent or control the risk of infection, fire,
explosion, and chemical and electrical hazards.

Well-devised traffic patterns, material-handling
systems, disposal systems, positive-pressure and
well-dispersed clean ventilation, and high-flow,
unidirectional ventilation systems for special
applications all contribute to a safe surgical
environment.
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Traffic Flow
Traffic Patterns in the Surgical Suite, a three-zone
designation of areas within the surgical suite
facilitates appropriate movement of patients and
personnel.
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Traffic Flow
1.
Unrestricted areas are those in which personnel may
wear street clothes, and traffic is not limited.
2.
In semi-restricted areas, such as processing and
storage areas for instruments and supplies, as well as
corridors leading to the restricted areas of the surgical
suite, personnel must wear surgical attire and patients
must wear gowns and hair coverings.
3.
Restricted areas include operating rooms and clean
core and scrub sink areas. Surgical attire and masks are
required in these areas when there are open sterile
supplies or scrubbed persons in the area.
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Traffic Flow

The flow of supplies should be from the clean
core area through the operating rooms to the
peripheral corridor.

Soiled materials should not re-enter the clean
core area. Soiled linen and trash collection areas
should be separated from personnel and patient
traffic areas for infection control purposes.
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Ventilation

Appropriate ventilation systems aid in the
control of infection by minimizing microbial
contamination.

Temperatures in an operating room should be
maintained between 68° and 73° F (20° to 23°
C), with relative humidity of 30% to 60% to
reduce bacterial growth and suppress static
electricity.
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Cont…

Temperatures in that range allow for comfort of
the surgical team and are tolerated by most
patients.

Each operating room should have individual
temperature controls to accommodate patient
safety, as when increased warmth is required for
patients at high risk for inadvertent hypothermia
during operative procedures.
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Emergency Signals

Every surgical suite should have an emergency signal
system that can be activated inside each operating room.

A light should appear outside the door of the room
involved, and a buzzer or bell should sound in a central
nursing or anaesthesia area.

The signals should remain on until the alarm is turned off at
the source. All personnel should be familiar with the system
and should know both how to send a signal and how to
respond to it. Such a system, restricted to use in lifethreatening emergencies, saves invaluable time in bringing
additional personnel and resources for assistance.
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Operating Department comprises:
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Rest rooms
Changing rooms
Teaching rooms
Storage
Reception areas
An operating suite
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An Operating Suite
Is one functioning unit of a department:
 An anesthetic room
 Clean preparation room
 Scrub-up area
 Operating theatre
 Sluice room
 Exit bay
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“Clean and Dirty”
All journeys within the department are
made from clean to dirty areas, never
the other way round
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Patients

Will enter the department from the hospital corridor via a transfer
bay. Here they are usually lifted on to a theatre trolley, leaving the
ward bed outside.

Next they enter either a holding bay area or else move directly to the
anesthetic room.
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Finally they enter the theatre itself where surgery is to be performed

The journey has been one through progressively cleaner areas,
arriving finally at the cleanest of all.
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Once the wound has been closed and covered with dressing, it is safe
for the patient to return to the ward via progressively more dirty
areas: through the exit bay, recovery and the hospital corridor.
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Instrument and Equipment

Are brought from outside the department into clean store
rooms. Instruments are often supplied in pre-packed
sterilized trays by the Theatre Sterile Supplies Unit (TSSU).
Finally, they enter the theatre ready for use on the scrub
nurse’s trolley.

At the end of an operation, dirty instruments, linen and
rubbish are removed to the sluice room, and when
correctly packaged for disposal, to agreed collection
points. Porters then take them via a dirty corridor to their
several destinations: the TSSU, laundry or hospital
incinerator.
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Theatre Personnel

Enter the department via a changing room
where outdoor clothing is left.

Once attired in correct theatre dress they can
proceed to a suite along a clean corridor.

Here they enter via the clean preparation room
or the scrub-area, and like the patient, leave
through the exit bay.
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The Anesthetic Room

The anesthetic machine
 Suction apparatus
 The drug cupboard
The Operating Theatre

The operating table – centre piece of the
room, a very versatile piece of equipment. It has
to be in order to accommodate the great variety
of different operating positions.
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The Operating Lights

There are usually two operating lights in a theatre
attached to the ceiling.
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The lights are easily maneuvered, necessary to
accommodate the needs of surgery.
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Good lighting is needed to carry out an operation,
and lighting a wound from two converging angles
is designed to eliminate shadows.
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Anesthetic Scavenging

A long length of corrugated plastic tubing connected to
the anesthetic circuit at one end, while the other
connects to a vent in the ceiling or wall.
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The system draws out of the theatre any anesthetic
gases or agents leaking from the circuit and which
pollute the atmosphere.
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The Swab Rack

This is a metal piece of furniture used for hanging up
swabs during an operation for ease counting.
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It comprises of several tiers have either hooks to hang
the swabs, or else holes to poke them through.
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The hooks and holes are grouped in numbers off fives,
and each tiers can usually accommodate ten swabs.
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The Swab Board

This is for recording the amount of blood loss during
the operation especially major operation.
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The nurses record this information for anesthetist's
benefit, who will instigate replacement therapy.
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The board is usually marked in two columns; one for
blood loss from the swabs and one for loss from the
suction.
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Weighing Scale: estimating blood loss

You should find a list of known dry weights of each
different type of swab.
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To estimate blood loss, you weigh the blood-soaked swab,
and from that weight subtract the known dry weight.

This leaves you with the weight of blood lost, which is the
amount you record, adding it to the running total.
e.g.; Dry Large swab = 20g, Soaked in blood = 90g
: 90g – 20g =70g is the weight of the blood loss
(1g = 1ml)
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X-ray Screens
This is vital as some operations are conducted
with close reference to a patient’s x-rays
throughout.
e.g. orthopaedic surgery, tumour surgery and
operations such as cholecystectomy
Rubbish bins, Swab bins and Linen bins
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Every theatre has separate disposal containers for
rubbish, swabs and linen.
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During the operation the swabs must remain separate,
to facilitate the swab counting procedure.
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Leave the disposal bags in the theatre until the end of
the operation, until the scrub nurse is entirely happy
with the final count.
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Fresh disposal bags are always brought in for every
operation.
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Recovery Area

Carried out in the corridor outside the operating
theatre.

Normally made up of several bed spaces, each
with necessary equipment to facilitate recovery
e.g. oxygen, suction apparatus, pulse oximetry,
emergency trolley necessary to deal with cardiac
arrests or anesthetic emergencies etc.
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Changing to Theatre Clothing
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To cut down on any bacteria brought from outside
Cotton uniform less static electricity
Pride for nurses working in theatre
Laundry purposes
Reduce anxiety for patient
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The End
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