Attitudes amongst health professionals in operating theatres in public hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal

Safety in operating theatres is of concern globally and not an isolated problem in Kwazulu-Natal (Carvallo et al. 2015:104). Globally, operating theatres remain error prone, approximately two hundred and thirty four million (234 000 000) major surgical cases are performed annually (Haugen et al. 2013:807). In KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health annual report for 2012 to 2013 and the one for 2014 to 2015 revealed that failure to achieve safety in operating theatres have resulted in a tremendous increase of surgical errors leading to inadvertent returns of patients to theatres that have resulted in huge annual claims for surgical errors. The negative attitudes amongst health professionals in operating rooms with its contributing factors is a concern as they constitute a threat to patient’s safety thus defeating the purpose of safe culture(Göras et al. 2013:01). Aims of the study The aim of the study was to investigate the factors that affect safety attitudes of health professionals in operating theatres. Methodology A quantitative non–exploratory descriptive design was used to investigate factors affecting safety attitudes among health professionals in operating theatres. The analysis of 290 questionnaires from consented respondents of 12 regional hospitals from seven (7) health districts was undertaken using descriptive statistics with respect to variables of the study. Results The safety climate together with teamwork in operating theatres in relation to patient safety have been rated significantly higher than adequate with the mean values for safety climate starting at 3.61 to 3.87 and for teamwork starting at 3.60 to 3.83 indicating that the attitudes of team members regarding patient safety in both factors is positive. The management climate among the health professionals when it comes to patient safety has been rated significantly lower than adequate with mean values starting at 1.7 to 3.1 which shows that the attitudes of operating team members regarding patient safety is negative. The stress recognition pertaining to patients safety by the operating team members is rated significantly higher than adequate with mean values starting at 3.69 to 3.93 which indicates that the attitudes of staff in operating theatres is affected by stress exposure. Conclusion The safety attitudes of the health professionals in operating theatres is positively and negatively affected by various factors which in turn affect the delivery of safe quality patient care resulting in the occurrence of surgical errors in theatres. The occurrences of surgical errors predispose the institution to lawsuits which drains the health budget leaving the institution unable to or cater for the needs of the institution.