Standard Precautions Assignment
Standard Precautions Assignment
Elisha Ali
25678787
The role of the operating department practitioner in establishing and maintaining a safe preoperative environment
Double line spacing throughout
Introduction
The prime reasoning of preoperative care is joined-up, empathetic, and patient-centred. ODPs support and help the patient prior to surgery, and they also play a leading role during the operations by preparing the equipment and acting as the relation between the surgical team and other people. Moreover, they assist and monitor the patients when they go through the process of recovery (Cowper, 2020). ODPs also help patients who are very vulnerable or anxious for surgery. Operating department practitioners offer skilled support and care at each stage of operation. The paper describes the personal protective equipment, sharps safety as well as other safety standards which are required to consider by the operating department practitioner. Along with these, the paper discusses other several safety standards which are dirty linen, disposal of clinical waste, decontamination, routine cleaning, and many more. This paper discusses the role of the operating department practitioners in the preoperative environment. The paper starts with a brief introduction. Then the paper discusses various aspects that revolve around the topic.
No mention of LO2 in your introduction and no reference to the HCPC standards that define the roles and responsibilities of the ODP.
Personal protective equipment (PPE) includes aprons, goggles, eye protection, gowns, and gloves which are essential aspects to control and prevent infection for every staff member of health comprising nurses. The student ODP needs to follow and abide by certain legislative requirements like delivering suitable PPE for protecting staff against risks of infection linked with their operations. Then student ODP would carry the responsibility to make sure that they are wearing the needed PPE to protect themselves from significant inclination to various infectious agents as outlined in the guidelines of COSHH. Additionally, it would be their duty to offer and maintain proper training records on the specific PPE utilization. In this situation, they are required to complete the IPC training method to know and understand the process of using PPE. Precautions of (Infection Prevention Control) IPC will be necessary to follow to determine the transmission risk level of infection from and to the client (ACI, 2023). For example, student ODP will have to wear gloves when clients necessitate transmission-oriented precautions. Hand hygiene also must be completed effectively to prevent the chances of transmitting potential infections. Student ODPs must also wear aprons or gowns to protect clothing or uniforms from soiling or moisture during patient care.
Sharps disposal and safety
It will be necessity of ODPs for carrying out sharp's disposal and safety within the safety procedure of operation. Student ODPs should perform work that can generate biohazards aerosols within the certified cabinet of biological safety whenever it is necessary. They should never shear, bend, recap, or break needles that are disposable or eliminated from any kind of disposable syringes.The next step would be after utilization, the item should be placed into the container of sharps disposal. The essential safety consideration behind this is obstructing the possibility of any significant injuries from needle sticks (Blomberg et al., 2018). It should further be ensured by the ODPs that the sharps container is located conveniently for any lancets, syringes, and needles disposal. Following these circumstances, they will be required to follow and abide by the Safety and Health at Work Act 1974 which states clinical care settings comprising the exit and entry means should be safe and practicable without any challenges to health (Britsafe, 2024).
The application of gloves and hand washing
Following the Safety and Health Regulations at Work Act of 1974, it will be the role and responsibility of student ODPs to carry forward a sufficient and appropriate risk assessment that highlights their welfare, safety, and health with the assistance of distinct kinds of operational activities. They will also have the duty to carry out assessments that will be highlighted to the patients or any vulnerable individuals along with appointing competent individuals for managing the safety and health of the entire workplace (Britsafe, 2024). It will be a necessary aspect for ODPs to follow practices of hand hygiene within the operational theatre. They will be required to utilise an alcohol-oriented hand or an anti-microbial soap with anti-microbial activity. This is suggested before putting on sterile gloves. As there are chances of damage to the skin scrub brushes must not be applied. Besides this, gloves need to be utilised by them primarily to handle objects that are contaminated with secretions or blood such as tubing, gauze, and samples of tissue for pathology. This is also required for cleaning up purposes after operations are usually over. A standard operating process will be followed by them by making their forearms and hands wet with running warm water for a minimum of 100 degrees F along with applying soap (Niinfectioncontrolmanual, 2024). For at least 15 seconds, lathered forearms and hands should be scrubbed under fingernails. This will act as a key safeguard against any kind of inadvertentinclination to biological agents or toxic chemicals.
The environment, decontamination, and routine cleaning
ODPs must consider that there are specific guidelines to do environmental cleaning routinely inside the operating room. Before the day's first case begins, they shall apply lint-free clothes which are usually moisture-carrying disinfectants. When there are changes in cases, removal should be done which are infectious along with eliminating trash and linen and wiping light reflectors or equipment and mattresses with a disinfectant or a cleaner. They are also responsible for terminal cleaning just after the days last case takes place by applying microfiber and disinfectant on clothes. This must be done because the operation theatre gets screened along with its immediate atmosphere reduces the exposure of healthcare staff and patients to significantly infectious microorganisms (Marais and Downing, 2022). Routine decontamination can be carried out by ODPs by disinfecting all noncritical equipment and furnishingsthoroughly along with moving standing equipment so that the whole OR floor can be cleaned.
Spillage of solutions and body fluids
ODPs will have the responsibility to clean a body fluid or blood spill within the clinical care setting to ensure the spill's cleaning and safe management on an immediate basis. They can manage blood drop spots or various small spills easily by wiping the region comprising paper towels immediately. After that detergent and warm water can be cleaned followed by drying and releasing the region full stop. The next step would be drying that area because containers can be attracted by wet areas. In this situation, they will have to utilise hospital-grade disinfectants, particularly in spill after cleaning. If a spill takes place on the carpet, ODPs must use shampoo to clean the field and be aware that disinfectants are not used. The key preference in this case is given to steam cleaning. Basically, following the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH), the regular tasks of an ODP constitute helping and supporting vulnerable or anxious patients to get prepared for surgery following the theatre of operation (Lakbala et al., 2014). This also includes ensuring specialist equipment availability and monitoring instruments along with assessing the operating theatre's cleanliness.
Human tissue and specimens for disposal
Some vital preoperative precautions that ODPs should take in relation to tackling specimens, particularly for the purpose of tissue processing include wearing gloves as it is an early intervention taken to resolve infectious health issues of patients and prevent individual selves from infection. Gloves will be effective in handling specimens as fresh tissues can be found significantly infective along with placing all specimens in a fixative position as early as required. Additionally, in order to inactivate viruses such as HBV and HIV formalin has been found effective and must be utilised by ODPs to minimize mycobacteriums infectivity. Specimen-secured handling is important for them because accurate therapeutic and diagnostic decisions rely on the taste outcomes' accuracy. Also, to ensure the maximum preparation of patients is properly done, this handling and collection of specimens are vital (Department of Health, 2023). These results' precision relies on the specimens purity as well as accurate collection procedures utilisation.
Implications for the patients and staff of not using standard precautions.
Standard precautions are meant to lower the transmission risk of blood-borne and other pathogens from both unrecognised and recognised sources. These are known as the basic precaution levels for controlling infections that are to be utilised as a minimum in care for all the patients. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) like hand gloves, aprons, and goggles are especially important in a preoperative environment (El-Sokkary et al., 2021). These equipment's help to safeguard the exposed parts of the body. Personal protection equipment also safeguards healthcare providers from any kind of infection and prevents the spread of infection from one patient to another patient. It has been found that personal protective equipment provides the employee with safety which they require while working with several hazardous products. It is for this reason that the facilities are always required to use it when it is proper. However, this is considered only when the quality of equipment is up to the mark. When the health care providers fail to use the PPE in a correct manner, there could be some disastrous outcomes for everyone involved in the procedure. The two primary issues that need to be considered with poor handling or not using personal protective equipment are putting both the staff and the employees at tricks and putting the entire healthcare setting in legal trouble (George et al., 2023). Starting with the health risk, individuals who do not use personal protective equipment correctly are much more vulnerable to getting burned, electrocuted, cut, or many more. In some circumstances, the substances can get the health care provider or the patient in and without using the personal protective equipment, the contamination risk increases significantly. There are many more serious implications which are related to not using PPE. For instance, relying on the material in question the healthcare providers' minds have their senses compromised such as their eyesight. This makes warning the PPE critical for avoiding the disability (Neuwirth et al., 2020).
The safety of healthcare providers is not the only thing that is being compromised without the appropriate utilisation of personal protective equipment. When an individual does not utilise the PPE in the correct manner, some legal trouble is there that the entire business will experience. The staff are put at fault whenever they do not select to wear the right PPE and troubles only add up when they refuse to wear any on several occasions (Shwe et al., 2021). There are some scenarios within which the employer can be held responsible for those who do not wear the required personal protective equipment. When an employer does not uphold the regulation of safety on business and does not monitor whether the staff is wearing the gear they require, it means the healthcare providers are not enforcing the responsibility for facilitating the health and safety of staff. Poor compliance with PPE significantly increases injury risk. The list of risks includes punctures, slips, electrocution, cuts, and burns. In accordance with Work Regulation 1992, the employers hold the legal duty to make a proper and suitable maintained workplace with safety equipment that is accessible to them, free of any kind of charge, and to any of the employees who are working in an environment that is hazardous potentially. PPE is regulated by Health and Safety Executives (HSE). This government agency has the entire responsibility for regulation of the safety issues in the workplace (Vidua et al., 2020). The main piece of the PPE legislation is Personal Protective Equipment (Enforcement) Regulation 2018 (SI 2018/390), which enacts the regulation of EU 2016/425, and earlier Personal Protective Equipment under Work Regulations 1992.
ConclusionThe healthcare providers who work in the environment that are hazardous potentially should be supplied with some suitable PPE. Along with the training in the utilisation, but they also hold some of the responsibilities themselves under Personal Protective Equipment under Work Regulations 1992. The operating department practitioners need to use the safety equipment in a proper manner to comply with the rain that they have acquired. Taking reasonable care of the PPE offered and not attempting repairs or unauthorised modifications is significant in the healthcare sector. It is also important to examine the PPE equipment visually before using it and recognising the faults of the problems that are developing. The implications of not using PPE include the risk of transmitting hazardous diseases, vapour, gas, radiation, dust, issues with the eye, and many more. The safety glasses or goggles are used to prevent the risk of injuries and blindness from splashing chemicals, dust, gas, and flying debris. The PPE gloves safeguard the hands of healthcare providers who encounter proximity or handle hazardous materials, the specialist variations include thermal gloves for the cold environment and latex gloves to protect against electrical shocks.
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