Patient monitoring is an important part of procedures carried out at Northern Suburbs Veterinary Hospitals.
The administration and monitoring of anaesthesia for surgical procedures is a complex and multifaceted skill that requires both knowledge and practice. The safety of the patient is dependent on the awareness and response to potential problems. A thorough understanding of the principles of anaesthetic monitoring and awareness of normal and abnormal patient parameters is crucial to providing safe anaesthesia.
It is the nurse’s responsibility to monitor the safety of the patient at all times. An anesthetized animal will NEVER be left unattended for any reason. Monitoring of the anesthetized patient is a continual process throughout the anaesthetic event from pre-medication to full recovery. Vital signs and other monitoring parameters are recorded to the surgery record every 5 minutes throughout the procedure, but patient monitoring is continuous.
Parameters assessed continuously throughout the anaesthetic period are:
- Respiratory
- Cardiovascular
- Body Temperature
- Anaesthetic depth/ Patient status
