Perception of Anesthesia Technologists About the Barriers to Safe Anesthetic Care
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Background: Safe anesthetic care requires appropriate preparation, functional equipment, essential medications and supplies, physiological monitoring, effective teamwork, and structured postoperative handover. Anesthesia technologists contribute directly to these processes, but their perspectives remain insufficiently explored in Pakistan. Objective: To explore anesthesia technologists’ perceptions of current practices and barriers affecting safe anesthetic care in tertiary care hospitals in Lahore. Methods: A qualitative exploratory study was conducted at Mayo Hospital, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, and the University of Lahore Teaching Hospital. Sixteen anesthesia technologists were recruited purposively. Individual semi-structured interviews lasting approximately 25–35 minutes were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using Braun and Clarke’s six-phase thematic analysis framework. Results: Participants had a mean age of 27.63 ± 1.41 years and mean professional experience of 3.00 ± 1.10 years; 13 were male and three were female. Six themes were identified: perioperative safety practices; workforce shortage and workload pressure; equipment, supplies, and monitoring gaps; communication, teamwork, and hierarchy; protocols, reporting, and leadership support; and suggested improvements for safe anesthetic care. Participants described staffing shortages, malfunctioning or unavailable equipment, delayed repairs, inconsistent checklist use, hierarchical communication, and limited organizational learning as barriers that reduced safety margins. Conclusion: Participants perceived safe anesthetic care as dependent on the interaction of adequate staffing, functional resources, effective communication, standardized procedures, and responsive institutional support
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