Why Is the Operating Theatre Always So Cold? Team Cold or Team Warm
Operating theatres run cooler than most of the hospital, and almost every theatre nurse has an opinion about operating theatre temperature.
Some of you keep a second layer under your scrubs right through winter. Some of you are the reason the thermostat goes down another degree.
This Coffee Break is a little different. It is a question, and we want your answers.
Why theatres run cool
Comfort for the scrubbed team is part of it. A gowned and gloved surgeon or scrub scout nurse standing under theatre lights for a long list runs warm, and a cooler room helps.
The patient sits on the other side of the balance. The UK's NICE guideline on preventing perioperative hypothermia recommends a theatre temperature of at least 21°C while the patient is exposed.
The same guideline says that once active warming is established, the room may be cooled to allow better working conditions. Australian and New Zealand hospitals set their own policies, so the number on your theatre's thermostat may well be different.
What the temperature means for the patient
The NICE guideline says induction of anaesthesia should not begin unless the patient's temperature is 36.0°C or above.
For anaesthesia longer than 30 minutes, it recommends forced-air warming from induction, set at maximum and then adjusted to keep the patient at 36.5°C or above.
Recovery is the last checkpoint. The guideline says ward transfer should not be arranged unless the patient's temperature is 36.0°C or above.
Which is why the warming cabinet, the forced-air blanket and the temperature probe are part of every list, and why room temperature in theatre is a conversation more often than a setting.
The great theatre temperature debate
Every theatre seems to have its own version of it:
The colleague who wears a thermal top under their scrubs all year
The thermostat that only one person is allowed to touch
The anaesthetic bay that feels like a different climate from the theatre next door
The lead gown on an orthopaedic list that changes everyone's view of the room
The 7am start when the room has not caught up yet
Tell us: team cold or team warm?
We would like to hear from you. Reply in the comments on LinkedIn or Facebook with one of these:
Team cold: keep it cool, I am the one in the lead gown
Team warm: three layers on and still cold
Team depends: it depends on the list, the case and who is scrubbed
And if you have one, tell us your coldest theatre story: the list, the layers, or the trick that got you through it.
In a coming Coffee Break we will share the results and a few of the best replies. We will only use a reply if you are happy for us to, and we will not name you or your hospital unless you ask us to.
More from the theatre day
If this has you thinking about the rest of the theatre day, these are worth a read: the PACU and recovery nurse role, day surgery or main theatre, what theatre nurse on-call involves, and the three things that separate a good theatre from a great one.
You can also see the live roles we are recruiting for on our theatre nursing jobs in Australia page.
Planning your next perioperative career step
Our Theatre Nurse Career Playbook 2026 sets out pay, conditions and career structure across Australia and New Zealand.
If you would like a confidential conversation about your next career move, contact Paul on 04 355 83849 or email paul@carejobz.com
