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There should be at least one fully equipped obstetric theatre within the delivery suite, or immediately adjacent to it. Appropriately trained staff should be available to allow emergency operative deliveries to be undertaken without delay.21 The number of operating theatres available for obstetric procedures will depend on the number of deliveries and the operative risk profile of the women...
There should be medication storage facilities within maternity theatres which provide timely access to medicines when clinically required, while maintaining integrity of the medicinal product and allowing the organisation to comply with safe and secure storage of medicines regulations.62,65
Adequate recovery room facilities, including the ability to monitor blood pressure, ECG, oxygen saturation, end-tidal carbon dioxide and temperature, should be available within the delivery suite theatre complex.41
High-risk surgical patients should have their predicted 30-day mortality recorded preoperatively. The National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death report on high-risk surgery recommended the assessment and recording of 30-day predicted mortality for high-risk surgery (defined as a greater than 5% risk).63 The national emergency laparotomy audit and the national hip fracture database both recommend the recording of...
Patient controlled analgesia (PCA) equipment should be available for postoperative pain relief, and staff operating it should be trained in its use and how to look after women with PCA.48
The maximum weight that the operating table can support should be known, and alternative provision made for women who exceed this.
Equipment to facilitate the care of morbidly obese women (including specialised electrically operated beds, and positioning aids such as commercially produced ramping pillows, weighing scales, sliding sheets, and hover mattresses or hoists) should be readily available and staff should receive training on how to use the specialised equipment.49
Ultrasound imaging equipment should be available for invasive procedures such as central vascular access, transversus abdominis plane (TAP) blocks and the provision of central neuraxial blockade.50,51
Ultrasound equipment should be available for use by trained staff for transversus abdominis plane (TAP) blocks, central neuraxial blockade, placing lines and transthoracic echocardiography. Other tasks, such as airway and gastric volume assessment, may also benefit from the availability of ultrasound.52,53
Synchronised clocks should be present in all delivery rooms and theatres to facilitate the accurate recording of events and to comply with medicolegal requirements.54
