Sterile Services (CSSD): The Silent Guardians of Patient Safety

By Esther Espunyes, EORNA President Last week, I reflected on sterility as the invisible foundation of safe surgery. But behind every sterile instrument and every safe surgical procedure, there is a team whose work often remains unseen: Sterile Services, or Central Sterile Services Department (CSSD). A safe CSSD depends first on a well-designed workflow, ensuring…

Preventing Surgical Site Infections: Every Step Counts

By Esther Espunyes, EORNA President Last week, I reflected on why safe surgery begins before the first incision. This week, I want to focus on a principle that defines perioperative excellence: every step matters. The 7S Bundle (developed by Surgical Infection Consultants Maureen Spencer and Peter Graves) reminds us that preventing surgical site infections is…

Safe Surgery Starts Before the First Incision

By Esther Espunyes, EORNA President Last week, I reflected on how organisational culture creates the foundation for safe surgery. This week, I want to focus on where safety first becomes tangible: the preoperative pathway. The quality of surgical outcomes is often determined before a patient enters the operating room. Prehabilitation reminds us that preparing patients…

Building a Safety Culture in the Operating Room

By Esther Espunyes, EORNA President Last week, I reflected on why perioperative nurses are essential to safe surgery. But safety cannot depend on individual commitment alone. It needs to be embedded in the way an organisation thinks, leads and works. High Reliability Organisations offer an important perspective. They operate in complex environments where the consequences…

Why Perioperative Nurses Are Essential to Safe Surgery

By Esther Espunyes, EORNA President As perioperative nurses, we sometimes underestimate the complexity of what we bring to the operating room. We are there to speak for the patient when they cannot speak for themselves. We coordinate people, information and processes in an environment where every detail matters. We anticipate what may be needed, identify…