Volume 193 - Issue 8
The WHO Surgical Safety Checklist
Authors: Alan F Merry and Bruce H Barraclough
Med J Aust 2010; 193 (8): 486-487. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2010.tb04014.x
Published online: 18 October 2010
Published online: 18 October 2010
In reply: Thank you for the opportunity to respond to Bradley’s letter. We agree that constructive engagement of clinicians is essential in adoption of the World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist (the Checklist) — that point is clearly made in our editorial.1 Bradley’s anecdotal comment about use of the Checklist causing distraction during the induction of anaesthesia is difficult to evaluate in the absence of more detail. Surely any competent anaesthetist committed to patient safety could liaise with other team members to find an acceptable time to fulfil the entirely reasonable expectation of ensuring that relevant safety checks have been done? Furthermore, the study of Haynes and colleagues2 provides considerable reassurance about the possibility of unintended harm from use of the Checklist.
Justification for the Checklist does not depend on the above-mentioned study alone: the Checklist was developed by an extensive process of literature review and consultation. It reflects expert consensus, and its endorsement by the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and many other organisations adds to this consensus. There is no suggestion that the Checklist will save any particular number of lives in any given country — rather, its use is likely to reduce the number of patients harmed during surgery, and this is surely worthwhile.
References
- Merry AF, Barraclough BH. The WHO Surgical Safety Checklist. Med J Aust 2010; 192: 631-632.
- Haynes BA, Weiser TG, Berry WR, et al. A surgical safety checklist to reduce morbidity and mortality in a global population. N Engl J Med 2009; 360: 491-499. 0_i1095395