Speaking up in the perioperative setting.

Patient safety is a key role for all staff who work in the perioperative environment. Being able to raise concerns and have these concerns listened to is a big part of maintaining patient safety. Freedom to Speak Up Guardians were introduced to assist health care workers in raising concerns; however, their access to perioperative areas may be restricted.

Perioperative fasting: A review.

Preprocedural/preoperative fasting is a key part of preparing a patient for undergoing sedation or anaesthesia to minimise the risk of pulmonary aspiration of gastric contents. As part of caring for elective surgical patients it is important that healthcare staff in the perioperative environment have a good understanding of both the current guidelines and underpinning evidence so that they can effectively manage preoperative patients. This article looks to summarise the latest guidelines regarding perioperative fasting for adult and paediatric patients, the underlying evidence behind these guidelines and finally review current literature which will inform future practice.