Efficacy of paediatric anaesthetic trolleys: A call for a basic standard and layout

• Published in: The International journal of risk & safety in medicine Vol. 27; no. 4; pp. 201 - 207
• Main Authors: Griffiths, Sian E, Boleat, Elizabeth, Goodwin, Alison, Sheikh, Asme, Goonasekera, Chulananda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands 30.12.2015
• Subjects: Anesthesiology - instrumentation; Anesthesiology - methods; Anesthesiology - organization & administration; Anesthetics - administration & dosage; Anesthetics - standards; Attitude of Health Personnel; Checklist; Child; Child, Preschool; Equipment and Supplies, Hospital - standards; Equipment and Supplies, Hospital - supply & distribution; Health Care Surveys; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Pediatrics - instrumentation; Pediatrics - methods; Pediatrics - organization & administration; Qualitative Research; United Kingdom; patient safety; standardisation; Paediatric anaesthesia trolleys
• ISSN: 0924-6479; 1878-6847
• DOI: 10.3233/JRS-150661

Providing safe anaesthesia to children especially in emergency situations goes hand in hand with instant availability of appropriately sized equipment and monitoring. This is best achieved using a designated paediatric anaesthetic trolley containing essential equipment. Guidance for the contents of such trolleys is neither explicit nor standard. We used a survey and a qualitative enquiry to develop a checklist suitable for standardisation of contents and layout of paediatric anaesthetic trolleys. We conducted an observational study of our current practice and paediatric anaesthetic trolleys in a tertiary care hospital. We also performed a qualitative enquiry from experienced paediatric anaesthetists and operating department practitioners.We developed an empirical checklist to ensure the minimum 'essential' equipment is available on these trolleys and implemented a standard layout to facilitate its use. We identified 11 areas in our hospital where anaesthesia is provided to children, each with a designated paediatric anaesthetic trolley. There were considerable deficiencies of items in all areas with no standard pattern or layout. Different types of trolleys contributed to the confusion. In addition, overstocking of inappropriate items hindered its efficient use. Standardising the contents and layout of the paediatric anaesthetic trolley is an essential pre-requisite for safer paediatric anaesthetic practice.