Anaaesthesia workflow is synonymous with teamwork. In general practice, the nurse’s knowledge of anaesthesia and the operational prep room is fundamental to workflow success.

Multiple studies have concluded that teamwork and communication failures are the strongest predictors of surgical error – it’s exciting to see how nurses can have such a positive impact on this area and how the utilisation of every member of the team can create a valued and positive anaesthesia environment with streamlined anaesthesia processes.

It’s worth remembering that the approach to workflow is individual – while some fundamentals exist, teams need to understand what good workflow looks like for them and adapt accordingly to their situation.

Visualising the “ideal” allows groups to work towards setting goals, consider any inefficiencies and shift them to opportunities. In that manner, we are naturally looking for a solution, which can be a process rather than a “quick fix”.

The focus is on finding ways to lighten the anaesthesia workload, all while enhancing the efficiency of task flow. At a minimum, surgical flow disruptions can extend surgeries and increase costs. More importantly, surgical flow disruptions can lay the foundation for errors that may impact patient safety.

Here are 10 measurable benefits to improving anaesthesia workflow:

1. Patient and client care. An increased focus on each patient and client. A reduction in patient anaesthetic journey times. Consistent patient safety and high-quality care.

2. Teamwork. Gaining that “magical time” – freeing up vets for their roles and owning your role with confidence. Reducing the workload/burden of individuals.

3. Communication. Accurate, direct and efficient. Reduction in inefficient communication.

4. Team morale. Reduced staff stresses and a happy workplace environment. Effective coping mechanisms for unexpected challenges.

5. Productivity. Reduced anaesthesia workload and improved task efficiency.  Minimised “wastes”.

6. Case management. Having the optimal caseload with calm and organised surroundings. Avoidance of last-minute cancellations. Standardised approaches to aid in performance expectations of staff and improvements to patient safety.

7. Disruptions. Reduction in disruptive activities. The ability for teams to focus on their task at hand.

8. Environment. Reducing anaesthetic durations, managing volatile agents, and oxygen consumption with tailored patient care and enhanced safety checks for anaesthetic equipment. Reduction in practice carbon footprint.

9. Team education. Having pre-planned solutions. Understanding the knowledge/systems gap. Fostering positive change and having the skills to improvise for the unexpected.

10. Cost effectiveness. Better profitability. Revealing “unnecessaries” and optimising necessaries.

Intraoperative patient care is intricate and requires extensive multi-tasking. While veterinary teams excel at juggling tasks, could we ease the load on individuals by defining specific roles in anaesthesia and optimising our workflow?

Now is the time to initiate this important discussion in your practice.