Ergonomics in the anaesthetic workplace guideline from the Association of Anaesthetists
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Ergonomics in relation to anaesthesia is the scientific study of the interaction between anaesthetists and their workspace environment in order to promote safety, performance and well-being. The foundation for avoiding pain or discomfort at work is to adopt and maintain a good posture, whether sitting or standing. Anaesthetists should aim to keep their posture as natural and neutral as possible. The successful practice of anaesthesia relies on optimisation of ergonomics and lack of attention to detail in this area is associated with impaired performance. The anaesthetic team should wear comfortable clothing, including appropriately-sized personal protective equipment where necessary. Temperature, humidity and light should be adequate at all times. The team should comply with infection prevention and control guidelines and monitoring as recommended by the Association of Anaesthetists. Any equipment or machinery that is mobile should be positioned where it is easy to view or reach without having to change the body or head position significantly when interacting with it. Patients who are supine should, whenever possible, be raised upwards to limit the need to lean towards them. Any item required during a procedure should be positioned on trays or trolleys that are close to the dominant hand. Pregnancy affects the requirements for standing, manually handling, applying force when operating equipment or moving machines and the period over which the individual might have to work without a break. Employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate disability in the workplace. Any member of staff with a physical impairment needs to be accommodated and this includes making provision for a wheelchair user who needs to enter the operating theatre and perform their work.
Date Issued
2021-12-01
Date Acceptance
2021-05-28
Citation
Anaesthesia, 2021, 76 (12), pp.1635-1647
ISSN
0003-2409
Publisher
Wiley
Start Page
1635
End Page
1647
Journal / Book Title
Anaesthesia
Volume
76
Issue
12
Copyright Statement
© 2021 The Authors. Anaesthesia published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association of Anaesthetists. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34251028
Subjects
Anesthesiology
BLOCK
COMMUNICATION
ergonomics
EVENTS
HAND DOMINANCE
HEAD
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
manual handling
musculoskeletal injuries
POSITION
Science & Technology
TASK-ANALYSIS
TRACHEAL INTUBATION
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Date Publish Online
2021-11-04