What should PACU staff do to confirm patient readiness for discharge?

Confirming a patient's readiness for discharge from the PACU primarily relies on ensuring that vital signs are stable. This is critical because stable vitals indicate that the patient has recovered sufficiently from anesthesia and the surgical procedure to maintain safe physiological function. Vital signs include heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and temperature, and these will give a clear picture of the patient's current health status.

If any vital signs are unstable, the risk of complications increases significantly, making it unsafe for the patient to be discharged. The stability of these vital signs is a key aspect of how the PACU staff assesses the patient's recovery.

While ensuring all forms are completed, checking for patient satisfaction, and documenting pain assessments are important tasks, they do not provide a direct measure of the patient's immediate physiological stability needed for safe discharge. Therefore, verifying that vital signs are stable remains the most crucial step in confirming that the patient is ready to leave the PACU.