Optimising Anaesthesia Processes at the University Children’s Hospital Zurich
Preparing anaesthesia for an operation or procedure requires a wide range of materials – this is also true at the University Children’s Hospital Zurich. There, Ms Nicola Ruben, certified expert in anaesthesia care and responsible for pharmacy/material, and her team manage over 500 items in the anaesthesia department.
Previously, anaesthesia preparation involved collecting materials from five different workstations. Items had to be gathered from cupboards, drawers, and trolleys to set up the induction process and sometimes transported to the adjoining operating room. Each workstation was stocked differently, requiring staff to have a comprehensive overview.
Ms Ruben set out to optimise this process. After analysing the workflow, she identified potential improvements and defined the following goals:
- Time savings in anaesthesia preparation
- Improved material management
- Better material visibility for staff
- Material mobility
The new concept aimed to consolidate the five workstations to enable centralised storage. Additionally, the materials should be mobile and accompany the patient throughout preparation and surgery. The solution: a drawer trolley with a top module. Nearly all required items can be stored in the trolley. Although the quantity of each item was slightly reduced, everything remains available. Staff can find all materials neatly arranged in the trolley, saving valuable time. The benefits of the standardised concept include:
- Around one-third less time required for anaesthesia preparation
- Reduced walking distances and improved ergonomics
- Increased patient safety through standardised storage
- Better material overview, especially for new staff
- Compact and easy-to-manoeuvre trolley
- Faster material turnover, improving logistics
- Less material waste
- Reduced effort for restocking and cleaning
Currently, four anaesthesia trolleys are in use at the children’s hospital. The concept is to be extended to the entire OR, except for cardiac surgery, due to its more complex requirements. After the initial implementation phase, Ms Ruben and her team are satisfied with the new system.
In the video, you can see how the process has been redesigned and improved. It was created by Ms Ruben and her team.
