Imperial College Healthcare pilots safer surgery checklist

Checklist reduces inpatient deaths and complications following surgery - News Release

Issued by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Wednesday 14 January 2009

Inpatient deaths and complications following surgery can be significantly reduced using a simple 'safer surgery checklist', according to a major new international study, which was piloted at St Mary's Hospital in London.

St Mary's Hospital, part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and working with its academic partner Imperial College London, represented the European region and was one of eight hospitals around the world involved in the World Health Organisation international pilot study.

Analysis of studies in the eight hospitals found that inpatient deaths following an operation fell by 40 per cent with the implementation of the checklist. The rate of major complications fell from 11 per cent in the baseline period to 7 per cent after introduction of the checklist. The full results of the study appear today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The checklist, which takes a few minutes to complete, is used at three critical points during operative care – before anaethsesia, before skin incision and before the patient leaves the operating theatre.

It is intended to ensure the safe delivery of anaesthesia, appropriate prophylaxis against infection, effective teamwork by the operating theatre staff, and other essential practices in perioperative care.

Professor David Taube, medical director at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said:

"It is critically important that every operation we carry out is as safe as it can be. We want our patients and their relatives to know throughout the process that every possible step is being taken to minimise any risk to them.

"We were delighted and honoured to be involved in the WHO pilot programme at St Mary's and the checklist has been well received by operating staff. As a Trust that carries out 115,000 surgical procedures a year, we have learned a great deal from this pilot programme. The results speak for themselves and show that use of the checklist can make a significant difference.

"We are now implementing the safer surgery checklist across the Trust and we hope other hospitals in the UK will do the same."

Professor Darzi, a surgeon at St Mary's Hospital and Professor of Surgery at Imperial College London, chaired a WHO working group that was instrumental in developing the checklist.

The checklist takes a few minutes to complete and is completed at three points during operative care

Professor Darzi also heads Imperial College London's Department of Biosurgery and Surgical Technology, which is internationally recognised for its research and innovation in patient quality and safety. This academic department hosts one of two National Institute for Health Research centres for Patient Safety and Service Quality and trials new approaches and technologies to reduce human error and improve patient care.

The department also includes the Clinical Safety Research Unit, the longest established patient safety research group in the UK, headed up by Professor Charles Vincent.

The checklist was launched worldwide last June and has been led by Professor Atul Gawande, a renowned surgeon at Harvard School of Public Health.

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For more information please contact:

The Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust Press Office
Telephone: 020 8383 3005
Out of hours: call 020 8846 1234 and ask for the on-call press officer
Email: cymbeline.moore@imperial.nhs.uk

Notes to Editors:

The safer surgery checklist and other supporting materials are available on the WHO Safe Surgery Saves Lives website at www.who.int/patientsafety/safesurgery/en/

The Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust comprises Charing Cross, Hammersmith Hospital, Queen Charlotte's & Chelsea, St Mary's and Western Eye hospitals. It is the largest Trust in the country and, in partnership with Imperial College London, is the UK's first Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC).