Safer anaesthetic rooms: Human factors/ergonomics analysis of work practices

Aim: To analyse the design of anaesthetic rooms (AR) using Human Factors & Ergonomics (HFE) methods. Methods: Hierarchical Task Analysis, Link Analysis and Anthropometry. Findings: Several latent design errors negatively affect drug and patient preparation tasks. Recommendations include AR layout design modifications and system level changes. Discussion: HFE principles provide generic recommendations but specific design details may not be generalizable. Conclusion: Further research is needed to explore the implementation of system changes.