Role of The Operating Room Technician in Implementing Surgical Counting and Its Impact on Patient Safety in Public Hospitals – Sana'a
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65693/irss.2026.v7i1.53Keywords:
Surgical counting, Patient safety, Operating room technician, Public hospitals, Sana’a, Yemen.Abstract
Background: Surgical counting is a core perioperative safety practice to prevent retained surgical items (RSIs). In resource-limited public hospitals in Sana’a, Yemen, the consistency of this practice among operating room technicians remains insufficiently studied. Objective: To assess the role of operating room technicians in implementing surgical counting and determine its impact on patient safety in public hospitals in Sana’a City, Yemen. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in five public hospitals. Using convenience sampling, 201 eligible operating room technicians completed a structured self-administered questionnaire covering demographics/work profile, surgical counting practices, and patient safety. Descriptive and inferential statistics, including Pearson correlation, were applied. Results: The findings revealed a significant implementation gap, with 50.2% of technologists reporting low levels of protocol adherence. Critical weaknesses were identified in procedural documentation (45.8% disagreement) and "speaking up" during count discrepancies (48.8% disagreement). Over half of the participants (52.7%) had received no formal training in surgical counting. A very strong positive correlation was found between the implementation of surgical counting and patient safety (r = 0.980, p < 0.001). Higher safety compliance was significantly associated with being female, having fewer years of experience (< 6 years), and managing lower surgical volumes (< 20 cases/month). Conclusion: Surgical counting implementation in Sana’a’s public hospitals is suboptimal and highly variable. The strong correlation between counting adherence and patient safety indicates that current inconsistent practices pose a substantial risk of preventable surgical errors. Systemic barriers, including high workloads and a lack of specialized training, are the primary drivers of non-compliance. Recommendations: Public hospitals should mandate standardized counting protocols and introduce competency- based certification in surgical counting. Further multi-center studies—including private hospitals and additional provinces- are needed to develop a national profile of counting practices and patient safety.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Sara Hussein Abdo Abdulrab Al-Selwi, Shaima Qasem Mursed Al-Dharehi., prof. Muneer Musleh Al-Wesabi, Hana Yahia Qasim Saleh Kabas, Raghad Ali Yousef Jaafar, Anhar Mohammed Ahsan Hammoud Al-Matary, Dekra Ali Ebraheem Ali Duailah, Shroq Mohammed Ali AL-Marwaei, Emad Hussein Ali Saeed Al-Muqatri, Rofidah Ali Abdullah Ahmed Amer, Zakaria Mohammed Taher Al-Dubais, Maryam Saleh Mohammed Al-Awlaqi, Badr Qassim Ahmed Al. Hubaishi (Author)
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