In 2014 the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) Board of Directors; the Perioperative Nurses College (PNC) of NZNO and the New Zealand Sterile Services Association (NZSSA) endorsed a maximum 7kg surgical instrument crate weight limit.
In December 2023 the updated standard for the crate weight was finalised. The new standard AS5369:2023 has replaced AS/NZS4187 and AS/NZS4815. The new standard states that the crates should not exceed a weight more than 5-7kg. See A.2.3.2 (g), on page 82.
Background
In hospitals throughout NZ staff are trained to identify and manage manual handling risks. However in the surgical setting the increasing weight of instrument sets has not been formally addressed nationally until now. A surgical set starts at a certain weight but as surgeons add their individual requirements it becomes steadily heavier. There is a tendency to include these extras in existing trays ad hoc, instead of providing an extra tray.
In 2011-2013 a Canterbury PNC working party along with representatives from NZSSA reviewed the issues. Their findings and recommendations are published in the paper by Guy, 2013, which is attached. The working party found around one third of surgical crates weighed a lot more than the 7kg limit described in the Australian College of Operating Room Nurses (ACORN) standards. Given that lifting surgical crates happens many times during a shift and also usually involves a twisting movement heavy crates pose serious health risks to perioperative staff with regard to possible injury and impacted physical energy levels.
This webpage provides information for members on the ongoing project and will continue to be updated as the change rolls out across NZ surgical settings, with a deadline of 2016.
Documents: