Rude remarks, sarcastic comments and insults in operating theatres seem to drop off if surgical staff feel the gaze of watchful eyes, a novel Adelaide study shows.

Surgeons, anaesthetists, assistants and scrub nurses reported fewer incidents of incivility after posters with eyes were placed in operating theatres and hallways without explanation, the University of SA team wrote in PLOS ONE.

The signs placed in the private Adelaide orthopaedic hospital included phrases such as “Operate with Respect” and “Eyes on Patient Safety”, which were adapted from phrases used by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

Sports surgeon Dr Nicholas Wallwork, chair of the private hospital in the study, said the findings showed that people would change their behaviour if they had a sense of being watched.