The impact of wearing personal protective equipment on theatre staff's wellbeing and team performance during COVID-19: a local survey

We are all aware that the last few months have been fraught with difficulties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic As trainee anaesthetists, we were at the frontline of the response to this crisis Information released by Public Health England (PHE) was constantly being updated and hospital policies were changed on a weekly basis to reflect this This presented numerous challenges with regards to the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as disruption to curriculum-based training Recently, the anaesthetic associations such as the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) and the Association of Anaesthetists have emphasised the wellbeing of doctors and hence patients The pandemic has caused a lot of anxiety amongst anaesthetists, and with this in mind, we decided to look at the impact of evolving PPE guidelines on trainees within the Northern region Methods We designed a questionnaire comprised of 10 questions relating to PPE These focussed on safety, variations in policies between hospitals, as well as the support and training provided Results We had an encouraging number of responses (n = 52) Most trainees were purely of anaesthetic background but 35% surveyed were dual or Acute Care Common Stem (ACCS) Only 10% of trainees at the time of the survey had been confirmed COVID-19 positive by swab Of the Trusts in the region, 92 5% were felt to be following PHE guidance on PPE and 85% of trainees felt they had adequate access to PPE Sixty-five per cent of trainees felt safe when in full PPE;however, 2/3 felt some anxiety related to COVID-19 and the level of PPE available Around 65% felt some pressure to underutilise or reuse PPE and 17 5% did not feel supported by their Trust In the comments section, we asked trainees what they would deem as adequate PPE and how a similar situation could be managed in the future The response was varied with some stating they felt that certain aspects of the PPE were unnecessary and inhibited clinical care;however, others had concerns over continued shortages of elements of PPE such as hoods, masks and visors Discussion In conclusion, there was a good adherence to PHE guidelines on PPE within our region Nevertheless, there remains controversy between the variations of PPE across the country As a specialty that remains heavily involved in aerosol-generating procedures, these issues have caused significant anxiety amongst trainees Moreover, the ongoing shortage and variation in use of PPE could have a negative effect on trainee health and patient safety