With major surgery now occurring at a rate of 234 million procedures per year – one for every 25 people – and studies indicating that a significant percentage result in preventable complications and deaths, WHO has launched a new safety checklist for surgical teams to use in operating theatres, as part of a major drive to make surgery safer around the world.
Lord Darzi, who was involved in the development of the WHO checklist and also led the UK pilot for the WHO initiative at St Mary’s Hospital, part of the newly formed Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “I feel confident that the introduction of the surgical safety checklist will improve the safety of patients who undergo surgery in the UK. Our pilot study in the UK and the seven other pilot sites worldwide indicate that the checklist will improve standards of care. We now need to ensure that surgical teams are supported fully with the implementation of the checklist and all surgical staff understand the importance of the initiative.”
