Surgical safety check list will save lives

28th September 2009

Surgical safety check list will save lives

A new Surgical Safety Checklist is being trialled in this region and BOPDHB medical director and surgeon Mr John Kyngdon says it has the potential to save lives.

“Surgeons and anaesthetists are leading the roll-out of the checklist because we believe it will save lives and reduce post-operative complications,” he says.

The checklist, which takes 120 seconds to complete, has been put together by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in consultation with surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses, patient safety experts and patients around the world.

“Much like a pilot and the team in the cockpit of an aircraft, the surgeons, anaesthetists and other theatre staff work through the checklist together, ensuring no preventable errors are about to be made,” says Mr Kyngdon.

Tauranga and Whakatane hospitals will be trialling the new checklist over the next six months and Mr Kyngdon says it’s about putting consistent guidelines in place.

“It is a simple way to formalise existing practice and make the processes consistent. We have started using the checklist and will modify it as we need to.”

The 21-item checklist is designed to improve team communication and consistency of care before, during, and after surgery. It is used at three critical points of a surgical procedure; immediately before the administration of anaesthesia, before the first incision, and before the patient is taken from the operating theatre.

Mr Kyngdon says that whilst the checklist is not compulsory, if only one instance of patient harm is prevented, it will be worthwhile.

“Surgery is much safer today than it was 20 years ago, but avoidable errors still occur and occasionally these are serious. The checklist is a simple clinical tool that will have an enormous impact on how medical teams prevent mishaps and associated complications,” he says.

ENDS

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