Theatre and surgical nurses update technical skills |15 January 2014

A group of fifty nurses working in the operating theatre and generally in the surgical field had the opportunity last week to update their technical skills and to develop new standards for surgical procedures.

This came through a three-day workshop organised by the Ministry of Health at the Seychelles Hospital, with the collaboration of the Friends of African Nursing Organisation (FOAN), which is based in the United Kingdom.

The workshop was run by two specialist nurses from the organisation, Kate Woodhead and Lesley Fudge.

According to the two specialists, the programme taught during the week is a new one and the local nurses are the first to benefit from it.

It consists primarily of elaborating a systematic checklist of steps to be followed and procedures to be respected in surgical operation.

“This is a completely new programme, we never did it before,” the two specialists said.

They now expect feedback from the Seychelles’ health authorities in order to evaluate its success.

Explaining the raison-d’être of the workshop, chief nursing officer Bella Henderson said that nurses need to acquire new skills in order to become more efficient and meet growing public expectation.

“The world is changing and the health professions including nursing can no longer rely on past systems to guide it through. Further, the public expects more sophisticated and responsive health services and the demands are more complex. The nurse must be able to think critically, solve problems and find the best possible way to help clients or patients in maintaining, regaining or improving health,” she said.

Mrs Henderson added that the Ministry of Health has to invest in training in order to establish satisfactory standards:

“Excellent nursing practice is a reflection of sound ethical standards which may be defined as ‘benchmarks’ of excellence. Professional nursing standards ensure that the highest level of quality care is promoted. It is therefore imperative that the Ministry of Health makes significant investments in the continuing education of nurses and midwives if the professions are to deliver excellent and sensitive care.”

Noella Mellie, senior nursing officer in the operating theatre, has said that the course will be beneficial to theatre staff now that they have the complete and updated written established procedures.

“We have reviewed things we do every day. The big difference is that we needed more and updated recorded documents as with time things change and patients expect more from us. So it was important to revise our standards and upgrade our services. Now that we have the written procedures, we can always go back to our notes in case of doubt,” she said.

It is the second time that Seychelles benefits from the help of FOAN. Mrs Woodhead and Fudge have promised to come back as soon as they have the opportunity to do so, with fresh knowledge and skills for Seychellois nurses.