Operating rooms must be strictly divided into restricted areas (sterile operating rooms), semi-restricted areas (contaminated operating rooms), and unrestricted areas. There are two designs for separating these three zones: one is to place the restricted and semi-restricted areas on different floors, which allows for thorough hygienic isolation but requires two sets of facilities, increases staff, and is inconvenient for management; the other is to have restricted and unrestricted areas in different sections of the same floor, with a semi-restricted area in between, sharing equipment. This design is more convenient for management.
Restricted areas include sterile operating rooms, restrooms, sterile rooms, and medication storage rooms. Semi-restricted areas include emergency or contaminated operating rooms, instrument and dressing preparation rooms, anesthesia preparation rooms, and sterilization rooms. Unrestricted areas include changing rooms, plaster rooms, specimen rooms, waste disposal rooms, anesthesia recovery rooms, nurses' offices, staff rest rooms, a dining hall, and a rest room for surgical patients' families. The duty room and nurses' offices should be located near the entrance.