ECRI Institute Vice President of Accident and Forensic Investigation Mark Bruley outlined four recommendations surgical teams should take to reduce the risk of fires in AORN's most recent edition of its weekly newsletter, the Periop Insider.
"Good education leads to effective communication when it comes to preventing and managing surgical fires," said Mr. Bruley.
Although advancements in acknowledging other preventable surgical harms, such as such as wrong-site surgeries, have empowered surgical nurses to be more vocal in questioning risks for surgical fire, there is still considerable room for increased awareness.
To increase awareness and help increase fire safety, Mr. Bruley recommended surgical teams:
1. Establish a communication and fire risk plan of which all members of the team are aware
2. Empower all members of the team to ask whether open oxygen — which can increase fire risk — is truly necessary
3. Provide strategic, consistent, and collaborative education about fire safety for all team members
4. Ensure every member of the surgical team knows how to act if a fire occurs
To read more about each recommendation, view the full article here.
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