Medical Research Institute

Who safe surgery saves lives

The Safe Surgery Saves Lives initiative was established by the World Alliance for Patient Safety as part of the World Health Organization's efforts to reduce the number of surgical deaths across the world. The aim of this initiative is to harness political commitment and clinical will to address important safety issues, including inadequate anaesthetic safety practices, avoidable surgical infection and poor communication among team members. These have proved to be common, deadly and preventable problems in all countries and settings.

To assist operating teams in reducing the number of these events, the Alliance - in consultation with surgeons, anaesthesiologists, nurses, patient safety experts and patients around the world - has identified a set of safety checks that could be performed in any operating room. The aim of the resulting WHO Surgical Safety Checklist First Edition (available at www.who.int/patientsafety/challenge/safe.surgery/en/index.html) is to reinforce accepted safety practices and foster better communication and teamwork between clinical disciplines. The Checklist is not a regulatory device or a component of official policy; it is intended as a tool for use by clinicians interested in improving the safety of their operations and reducing unnecessary surgical deaths and complications.

Safe Surgery

Safe Surgery

Operating Room Audit Project (ORAP)

This project has been prepared to help surgical teams assess their operating rooms and safe surgical practices. The project is based on the WHO Guideline for Safe Surgery which recommends 10 standards to ensure safe surgical practice that will also optimize surgical outcome. The standards can be implemented and maintained through the use of the Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC). However, to guarantee the successful use of the SSC a minimum of resources and safe practices have to be introduced into the operating rooms. This requires that the core structure and processes mentioned in WHO Guideline for Safe Surgery be introduced and indorsed by all members of the surgical team.

As a first step, a situation analysis must be performed to assess the current situation in the operating rooms. This is usually done through auditing the structure and practices performed in the operating rooms. In this project audit will cover operating room essential equipment, human resources, and compliance of staff with safe practices as stated in the WHO Guideline for Safe Surgery.

A sound operating room structure with safe surgical processes is expected to yield improved surgical outcome. Surgical outcome is measured using several quantitative parameters that can be found in 10th standard of the WHO Guideline for Safe Surgery related to surveillance of surgical capacity, volume and results.

The project related documents include the 10 standards for Safe Surgery (recommendations) derived from the WHO Guideline for Safe Surgery and related audit criteria (as defined by APSA), the audit form (created by APSA), and the surgical safety checklist (translated by APSA). The audit form has five sections covering background information on the operating rooms and staff, policies and procedures, essential equipment and tools for each operating room, safe practices as observed during the patient surgical pathway, and patient medical records.

Thank you

Alexandria Patient Safety Alliance (APSA)

Downloads

Patient involvement

Patients who are aware of their healthcare plan and of the risks involved are in a better situation to cooperate with healthcare providers in ensuring their safety during their hospital stay. Involving patients in guaranteeing their own safety is expected to minimize adverse events and create trust between patients and their healthcare providers.

Empowering patients in their safety can be facilitated by giving them a pocket leaflet at time of admission stating how they can help both the medical and nursing team in making their hospital stay as safe as possible.

How to involve patients.

The following are examples of how patients can be involved and how they can have an active role in guaranteeing their safety during their hospital stay:

To make sure that they are wearing their identification wrist band with their full name and date of birth during their hospital stay.
To understand their health problem.
To understand their healthcare plan and make sure that they are receiving it.
To make sure before any laboratory or radiological investigation is performed that it has been requested for them and not for any other patient.
To know what drugs they should be taking, why they have been prescribed, how they look like, when and how they should be taken, and their side effects (common).
To remind healthcare providers to actively identity them before any medication is given or procedure performed.
To remind healthcare providers to wash their hands before performing any procedure on them.
To make sure that all syringes used for any single procedure are new.
To ask whenever they are in doubt especially before any procedure is done to them.

Patient Involvement Leaflet

You can download the APSA patient involvement leaflet (سمعنا صوتك) that informs patients on how they could engage with their healthcare team in guaranteeing their own safety during hospital stay. On its back side, a medication chart is provided that can help patients track their medication schedule. The flyer has been designed in black and white so it can be easily printed, photocopied, and folded on itself for immediate use.

سمعنا صوتك patient leaflet

WHO patient safety solutions

Solutions to prevent health care-related harm

The most important knowledge in the field of patient safety is how to prevent harm from happening to patients during treatment and care. The nine solutions are based on interventions and actions that have reduced problems related to patient safety in some countries.

The nine solutions are now available in accessible from for use and adaptation by WHO Member States to re-design patient care processes and make them safer.

They come under the headings of:

1. Look-alike, sound-alike medication names; 2. Patient identification; 3. Communication during patient hand-overs; 4. Performance of correct procedure at correct body site; 5. Control of concentrated electrolyte solutions; 6. Assuring medication accuracy at transitions in care; 7. Avoiding catheter and tubing misconnections; 8. Single use of injection devices; and 9. Improved hand hygiene to prevent health care-associated infection.

English

Patient Safety Solutions Preamble

Look-Alike, Sound-Alike Medication Names

Patient Identification

Communication During Patient Hand-Overs

Performance of Correct Procedure at Correct Body Site

Control of Concentrated Electrolyte Solutions

Assuring Medication Accuracy at Transitions in Care

Avoiding Catheter and Tubing Mis-Connections

Single Use of Injection Devices

Improved Hand Hygiene to Prevent Health Care-Associated Infections