7/26/2023 0 Comments R a c e fire drill![]() The scrub tech is charged with helping the surgeon cover the open wound and the staff with moving the patient. The surgeon must cover the open wound with a sterile barrier drape or sterile towels, and help move the patient from the surgical table to a predetermined evacuation area (an empty OR or PACU bay, for example). What if the fire rages out of control, smoke fills the OR and the patient needs to be evacuated? The anesthesia provider should tell the circulator to close the oxygen shut-off valve, announce the need for evacuation, disconnect the breathing circuit from the patient, turn off the oxygen flow and convert to room or medical air, and release the surgical drapes. And the OR supervisor needs to pull the fire alarm if it hasn't already sounded, help the anesthesia provider turn off the oxygen, direct personnel to close all OR doors, unplug electrical devices, grab a fire extinguisher if it's needed and inform the nurse manager and surgical department director of the fire event. The circulator should activate (or delegate activation of) the fire alarm, page other staff members and extinguish burning materials. The scrub tech needs to grab a saline-water mix from the back table and pour it onto the fire, smother it with wet towels and push the back table away from the sterile field. The anesthesia provider must stop the flow of oxygen and convert to room air until the fire is under control. The surgeon should immediately try to smother the fire with a wet towel. ![]() Let's say a fiber optic light cable ignites a sponge on the patient. Place paper flames where you want the mock fire to "burn." Announce the case details, relay the fire scenario and ask the surgical team to respond. Set up the back table with the equipment and supplies the staff would use during an actual case. Your fire committee and a staff volunteer playing the role of the patient should greet the unsuspecting clinical team when they arrive at the designated OR. Send one other person (RN, scrub tech or clinical assistant) to assist them in their preparations." The doctor wants to begin as soon as possible. Supplies for the case have already been pulled and are in the room. 4 and begin preparing for an emergency case that has just been added. Assign a circulator and scrub team member to go directly to OR No. Do not let anyone else know this is a drill. We gave our OR supervisor a note that read: "This is the real fire drill. Write down a specific scenario and deliver it to the OR supervisor to start the drill's chain of action. They should be more than happy to promote fire safety, and their participation will improve the drill's effectiveness and give it added credibility. Ask your local fire department to assist in the planning and evaluation of the drill. Plan a real fire drill for a date and time known only to high-level management. Their toughest test, however, was still to come. They demonstrated the knowledge and ability to act appropriately during fire emergencies. Our surveys revealed a growing confidence across clinical teams. Have OR teams complete anonymous surveys after the drill, giving them a non-punitive forum for providing the feedback that you'll use to measure their education progress and identify areas of needed improvement. Give the facilitators identical worksheets listing code red scenarios to ensure the entire surgical staff is evaluated under standardized testing conditions. Divide your surgical teams and assign them to individual suites, where safety team members and OR leadership will facilitate the action. ![]() Set aside about an hour of in-service time for a mock fire drill and advertise the event to staff, letting them prepare for their first on-the-floor test. You need to test staff on the floor, where they'll be reacting when a crisis hits. Tabletop discussions are largely effective for getting staff to think about fire safety, but minimizing reaction times during a fire event won't be as simple as working through code red scenarios in a conference room. Encourage them to work together to develop a sense of teamwork and to refer to their role cards to build confidence in your fire drill policies. Provide each group with cards that outline their position's responsibilities in the event of a surgical fire. Here's advice on running a tabletop fire drill and then following that up with a mock fire drill.ĭuring tabletop drills, divide staff according to their primary roles in the OR (see "R-A-C-E-E Against Time" on page 57). Never assume your staff understands all they need to know about fire safety. You see flames, pull the fire alarm, call 911 and evacuate the area.
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