Checklists in surgery

WHO Surgical Safety Checklist

• The WHO Surgical Safety Checklist is a three-step checklist that standardises key perioperative measures to improve patient outcomes and avoid harm (before induction, before incision, before leaving theatres)
• In large multicentre international studies it has been demonstrated to reduce postoperative mortality and morbidity by as much as 50%. Use of the WHO checklist is now ubiquitous across most hospitals worldwide.
• Importantly the WHO checklist involves all members of the theatre team, and can be adapted for local hospitals to improve relevance to their settings.
• The WHO Checklist provides an important ‘proof-of concept’ for the new ESCP Safe-anastomosis checklist

Related Paper: A Surgical Safety Checklist to Reduce Morbidity and Mortality in a Global Population