Journal of Perioperative Practice

This article is based on a course work assignment for the Welsh National Board Certificate Level Module in Operating Department Practice (Recovery Branch). The article uses a critical incident reflective approach to explore the issues of using touch in caring for a patient, experiencing laryngospasm following a general anaesthetic. A literature review will explain the mechanisms of laryngospasm and will discuss the use of different forms of touch. Conclusions and recommendations will be drawn from the issues discussed.

Just when you get comfortable with life - you've got everything under control and you know what you're doing - along comes someone with a new idea with a change attached to it. From the European Courts, through the Government to the Trust Executive and then the Directorates, change seems to be a constant part of life. Julie Sprague is a theatre nurse who saw an opportunity to make a worthwhile change in her area of practice. This is the acceptable face of change, at clinical practice level, done with involvement and co-operation of colleagues. This article describes that change process together with the theories and rationale which support it.

Acrylic bone cement has not substantially changed since it was first introduced more than 30 years ago, however the method by which it is mixed has evolved greatly (Dunne 1996).

The mercury sphygmomanometer has been used to measure blood pressure for over a century (O'Brien 2000, Smith 2000), but due to the hazards associated with mercury spillage, there is increasing reliance on other methods, such as automatic oscillometric blood pressure monitors and aneroid sphygmomanometers. Within the theatre and recovery areas, the oscillometric method appears to be most common (Ramsey 1991).