Identify the issues this scenario raises in relation to patient safety
You are waiting for a RN Rosie has been working as an anaesthetic nurse for several months and she is in the anaesthetic room with Mrs A, who is to undergo a total knee replacement. Mrs A has had a premedication, which has made her drowsy, but she is clearly still very anxious and holding firmly onto Rosie's hand. Rosie notices that Mrs A's healthcare record and her consent form both state that the procedure that she is about to undergo is a right total knee replacement. The operating list in the operating suite has Mrs A listed for a left total knee replacement.
Rosie asks Mrs A to clarify which knee she is having replaced and Mrs A points to her right knee, but tells Rosie that ‘both knees are bad'. Rosie checks Mrs A's legs to see whether the surgeon has marked the operative site for today's procedure and notes that this has not occurred.
What will be an ideal response?
Answer:
There is a real risk that Mrs A may have the operation on the wrong limb.
Although Mrs A claims that both knees are problematic, the facts are:
she has consented to surgery on the left knee (not the right knee)
she has been given premedication.
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