Abstract
This article aims to describe the early experience of a large major trauma operating theatres department in the East of England during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. To date and to our knowledge, a small amount of reports describing a surgical department’s response to this unprecedented pandemic have been published, but a well-documented account from within the United Kingdom (UK) has not yet been reported in the literature. We describe our preparation and response, including: operating theatres management during the COVID-19 pandemic, operational aspects and communication, leadership and support. The process review of measures presented covers approximately the two-month period between March and May 2020 and emphasises the fluidity of procedures needed. We discuss how significant challenges were overcome to secure implementation and reliable oversight. The visible presence of clinical leads well sighted on every aspect of the response guaranteed standardisation of procedures, while sustaining a vital feedback loop. Finally, we conclude that an effective response requires rapid analysis of the complex problem that is of providing care for patients intraoperatively during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that retrospective sense-making is essential to maintain adaptability.
Highlights
Introduction and backgroundSince the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic on March 11 and at the time of writing this article, there have been 3,925,815 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally, including 274,488 deaths (WHO 2020) and the United Kingdom (UK) national status reports indicate 31855 deaths (Department of Health and Social Care & Public Health England 2020)
This guidance informs the management of our operating theatres as a department, and the clinical practice within
Despite that there are 'no clinical trials to guide practice' (Gonzalez-Brown et al 2020), a number of articles have been published far detailing the experiences of operating theatre departments around the globe
Summary
Since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic on March 11 and at the time of writing this article, there have been 3,925,815 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally, including 274,488 deaths (WHO 2020) and the UK national status reports indicate 31855 deaths (Department of Health and Social Care & Public Health England 2020). Despite that there are 'no clinical trials to guide practice' (Gonzalez-Brown et al 2020), a number of articles have been published far detailing the experiences of operating theatre departments around the globe
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