An operating theatre is a room on a hospital site containing one or two operating tables or other similar devices. An operating theatre accommodates one or two patient(s) at a time, during and only during the period in which, under the direct supervision of a medical or dental practitioner, the patient(s) can undergo operative treatment in pregnancy or childbirth or for the prevention, cure, relief or diagnosis of disease.
The facilities available for all patients shall permit:
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positioning of patient to render the operative treatment possible or convenient. |
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adjustable illumination of sufficient power to permit fine or delicate work. |
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the operative procedure to take place in aseptic conditions which shall include the provision of sterile instruments and facilities for all staff to change clothing. |
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the provision of pain relief during the operative treatment more elaborate than basal sedation administered in the ward, self administered inhalation or infiltration with local anaesthetic; |
For example:
i. General, spinal or epidural anaesthetic
ii. Nerve block with local anaesthetic
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Excludes: |
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Obstetric delivery rooms containing a delivery bed. |
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Dental treatment rooms or surgeries containing a dental chair. |
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X-ray rooms, whether diagnostic or therapeutic. |
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Rooms which are only used to carry out endoscopy. |
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Operating theatres are of 3 main types: |
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Single theatre, containing one operating table. |
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Double theatre, containing two operating tables. |
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Twin theatre, comprising two separate rooms each with its own operating table but sharing certain supporting facilities. |
Scheduled Session: a period of theatre time allocated in advance to a consultant, or other doctor acting on his behalf, on a regular basis.
Identification of these sessions is normally consistent with the theatre timetable which might remain reasonably static for a period of time. (A detailed patient list is not necessarily drawn up at the time of allocation). The maximum duration of a session is usually a notional half day, but may be longer than this.
A scheduled session may be one of two types:
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Primarily for cases planned in advance: when the consultant can perform operations the majority of which have been arranged beforehand. |
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Primarily for emergency theatre cases: for patients whose visit to the operating theatre was not foreseen but took place as a result of illness or a complication requiring an urgent operation. |
All scheduled theatre sessions should be classified by the specialty of the consultant responsible for the work. Each consultant has a main specialty
See Specialty
NB: when sessions are planned to be shared between 2 specialties the number of scheduled sessions should be split between specialties on an approximately pro-rata basis.
Scheduled sessions may be:
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Held in the specialty: a session used by the specialty it was scheduled for, including a scheduled session which over-runs or a session interrupted by emergencies (or otherwise reallocated part way through). |
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Transferred to other: a scheduled session originally intended to be available to the specialty, but transferred to another specialty, for whatever reason as long as this was pre-planned; this includes sessions "cancelled and transferred". |
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Cancelled and un-used: a scheduled session intended to be available but which was cancelled and not subsequently used. This does not include cancellations due to public holidays. |
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Used on transfer from another specialty. NB: the sum of sessions "used on transfer" should equal the sum of sessions "transferred to other". |
Cases operated on "outside scheduled sessions" include all theatre cases operated on in the theatres but not in scheduled sessions.