Surgical attire designed to minimize the transference of micro-organisms and shedding of bacteria. For theatre staff,
- Maintaining healthy personal hygiene
- Reporting known infections or potential health problems
- Wearing the appropriate clothing attire correctly, and includes:
Wearing suitable suits, shirts, and pants with short sleeves that provided within the operating theatre changing areas (figure)
Its made of the lint-free material and should fit the body closer to the body
The suit should not be tight as to produce charring, which release of skin and hair particles laden with bacteria.
Replacing all outer garments with surgical suits when entering the theatre rooms.
Changing into clean suits daily or when contaminated by sweat or body fluids.
Surgical attire – When to change
Theatre staff is to cover their scrub suit (Surgical attire) with a clean gown or coat and outside shoes or overshoes worn, upon leaving the Operating Theatre.
i) When receiving patients to Theatre (emergency situation).
ii) Collecting blood or delivering urgent specimens.
iii) For other short urgent visits (e.g. called to acute patients in other areas).
iv) When leaving to go to short clinical consultations (e.g. pre-op visits).
When it is impractical to change or cover scrub suits when called to attend urgent acute
calls, or after intensive clinical practices (e.g. transferring ill patients) theatre staff should
completely change their scrubs on returning to the Operating Theatre.
At the end of the day or when visibly soiled ensure all scrub suits and over-gowns are
Discarded into the appropriate linen bag.
Minimizing the introduction of micro-organisms (from personnel and the outside environment) into the theatre department will be achieved by following these recommended practices:
i) Visitors entering a working Operating Theatre room during operation must
change fully into theatre scrubs and wear dedicated footwear. (students and other health visitors)
ii) Outsider arranged (e.g. midwife or workmen) theatre staff provide guidance for the choice of scrubs and footwear.
donning an over gown and overshoes may be necessary to prevent dirt contamination, and will be directed by theatre staff.
Note: Restricted and non-restricted area’s of the Operating Theatre environment shall be clearly
defined. The non-restricted area is the Recovery area.
Surgical gown
The surgical gown is readily available in the custom packs and lint-free linen cloth stitches home laundered.
Surgical gown (custom pack) is readily available in the market according to size. surgical personnel will know to open the pack and deliver gown in a sterile manner to the scrubs as mentioned in the figure. Follow aseptic technique to open the sterile packs
Jewelry
Jewelry is a potential source of pathogens.
Theatre staff required to remove all jewelry that may adequate hand washing or scrubbing for infection Control purposes, or potential injury the patient i.e. rings, watches, necklaces, bracelets and drop earrings.
Necklaces and drop earrings should also not be worn.
Broken or cause harm to the patient if lost in the surgical field, also they may source of micro-organisms. Jewelry is expensive and avoids missing in changing rooms.
Fingernails
Hand hygiene is the most important tool for preventing the transmission of microorganisms in the healthcare setting. subungual area (area under fingernails) hosts a greater number of bacterial colonies than any other area of the hand.
Theatre staff to ensure fingernails are kept short, clean in good condition.
Opsite spray dressing applied to any small cuts or abrasions after scrubbing and prior to donning sterile gown and gloves.
No theatre staff is allowed nail polish or artificial nails, as these have been shown to increase the bacterial count of staff wearing them.
Artificial nail harbor pathogenic bacteria (candida and Pseudomonas organisms)are the main source of the between real and synthetic nails
Footwear
Footwear worn in the Operating Theatre shall be clean, and comfortable to wear and material to permit proper cleaning. The material should be waterproof, have an easily cleanable sole and the upper surface, and have enclosed toes to minimize injuries to the wearer.
The main purpose of shoes
Maintain sanitation. change the Shoe cover, when
Damage
Comes out of operating room area
Fluid spillage
Torn
Permanent theatre staff should wear dedicated theatre/boots, label and clean when stained or at least weekly with soap and water. Maintain hand hygiene after changing footwear.
Note
clear leather boots or leather slipper are not inside the operation theatre, leather will absorb the spillage fluids and droplets.
Protective eyewear and face shield
Headwear/Headcap
Face Masks