Journal of Perioperative Practice

Pain is defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain as ‘an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage’. It is now accepted that pain should be anticipated, and safely and effectively controlled, in all children, whatever their age, maturity or severity of illness (Fisher & Morton 1998).

This article will consider various aspects of the use of the support worker in theatre and will propose that the support worker can undertake the scrubbed role. The position of NATN is that it ‘does not recommend that the role of the support worker encompasses the scrub role’ (NATN 1996); it will be argued here that this stance is based on arguments which are fundamentally flawed.

Nurses are required to undertake professional updating, PREP (UKCC, 1994), and are increasingly under pressure to ensure that they provide evidence-based healthcare (DoH, 1996). Proliferation of the literature, the move from printed to electronic sources of information and shortage of time may all be seen as barriers to nurses who wish to gain access to information to support these activities. Libraries are important gateways to this information and this article is a brief guide to making the most of library resources.

The European Working Times Regulations have implications for staff throughout the NHS. In particular, theatre staff and others working on call and shifts need to be aware of the implications of these regulations. In this article, Jon Richards, National Officer for Unison, explains the background to and implications of these regulations for theatre staff.

Surgical gloves were first introduced in 1889, when Halstead wanted to protect his scrub nurse from dermatitis caused by contact with mercuric chloride (Dodds et al 1990). The use of gloves then became more widespread, principally to protect surgical teams whilst operating on infected patients (Dodds et al 1990). Later, focus changed to protecting the wound from microbial contamination (McLoed 1989).

Waiting to go into theatre on the day of your surgery is probably the most stressful time for patients. What happens to patients during this crucial time can make a tremendous difference to the whole experience of going to theatre.

Heidi Belbin and her colleagues realised that there was a problem at Lincoln City Hospital with patients being kept waiting at theatre reception and were concerned that the quality of patient care in this respect was not acceptable. A plan was developed to improve this situation, and the story of what was done is told in this article. The project was entered for the 3M/NATN award, and earned a commendation from the judges.

I make no mistake in mixing anaesthetic care with recovery room nursing, as it is my belief that the two are linked. So this month we look at pain in the recovery room - or is this the only place to which this article is relevant? You decide. Pain is something which, quite rightly, occupies the minds of perioperative practitioners greatly. It is only human, and humane, to use our expertise to alleviate, control and understand it. In this piece, Trudi Starritt from St John's Hospital, Livingston, explores the concept of pain and pain relief from the recovery nurse's perspective.