Study suggests that music played in the operation room is distracting

According to a recent study, playing music during surgery can be off-putting and surgeons should think carefully about including this in the operating theatre.

For the study, which was published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, 20 operations across two UK hospitals were observed. Music was played in 16 of the operations. Multiple cameras were placed in strategic points around the operating theatre, so that verbal and non-verbal communication could be observed amongst the staff.

Music was often played quite loudly, and in some instances nurses appeared to struggle to hear the surgeon’s instructions. In one instance, a scrub nurse requested that the surgeon turn the music down because she was finding it difficult to count up the number of swabs that had been used.

Other studies have, however, suggested that music in the operating theatre can help surgeons to stay focused and calm.

The Royal College of Surgeons have said that they have found no evidence of an overall problem in NHS hospitals, and have said that if music is played during an operation, it “must not be distracting”.

Sharon-Marie Weldon, lead researcher from the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College, London, said “Music can be helpful to staff working in operating theatres where there is often a lot of background noise, as well as other distractions – it can improve concentration.

“That said, we’d like to see a more considered approach, with much more discussion or negotiation over whether music is played, the type of music and volume within the operating teams.”

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Posted by Karen Motley, Paralegal, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (karenmotley@chadlaw.co.uk ), News lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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