Behind the mask: who are unsung hospital ‘heroes’ helping doctors put patients on road to recovery?
- Behind-the-scenes clinical staff support doctors in four operating rooms at Hong Kong Adventist Hospital – Stubbs Road, in Happy Valley
- Highly trained team offer surgical support, monitor a patient’s vital signs, reduce risk of infection and sterilise operating room and surgical instruments
None of us wants to have to endure surgery, but should misfortune strike and we end up needing an operation we will want it to be carried out at a well-equipped hospital by a seasoned surgeon supported by a team of highly trained staff.
Many of us have only limited knowledge about the detailed workings of operating rooms, also known as operating theatres, which have to be carefully maintained and prepared to ensure they meet strict health and safety standards.
Once a patient is wheeled into the operating room, he or she is put into a deep sleep very quickly … no patients would know us really as we are always wearing surgical masks and gowns in front of them
Andrew Tam, operating room manager at Hong Kong Adventist Hospital – Stubbs Road, in Happy Valley, leads a team of medical professionals who provide surgical support to doctors, including carefully monitoring a patient’s vital signs throughout the entire procedure, managing surgical instruments and minimising the risk of infections to wounds or complications afterwards.
The hospital employs 48 clinical staff who work in its four operating rooms: they are the unseen, unsung “heroes” of every successful operation.
They are involved in about 3,800 operations at the hospital every year, covering all types of specialities, including general, orthopaedic, cardiac, vascular, thoracic, urology, ear nose and throat, eye, plastic, obstetrics and gynaecology, robotic, neurological and total joint replacement surgeries.
There’s no time to waste talking during an operation. The surgeon doesn’t need to speak much, either. The nurses will know what they need to prepare and do next
General operations usually last about one or two hours, but longer, complicated operations, involving more than two surgeons and additional nursing and support staff who rotate their duties, may last for up to 8 or 10 hours.
