WHO Surgical Checklist and Its Practical Application in Plastic Surgery

Area of Science:

• Medical Safety
• Surgical Procedures
• Quality Improvement

Background:

• The World Health Organization (WHO) introduced the "Safe Surgery Saves Lives" initiative, promoting the adoption of a standardized surgical safety checklist in UK surgical units.
• Prior to the new checklist, patient safety protocols and the implementation of critical safety steps like "time out" were inconsistently applied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To audit patient safety in surgical care delivery within a Plastic Surgery Department.
• To evaluate the practical application and effectiveness of the newly implemented WHO surgical checklist.
• To compare the use of the WHO checklist against previous departmental equivalents.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective audit was conducted on 90 patients undergoing operative treatment under general anesthesia.
• Data on complications, incidents, and the utilization of the "time out" procedure were collected and analyzed.
• The new WHO surgical checklist was compared with the department's former checklist.

Main Results:

• Before the WHO checklist, "time out" was performed in only 30% of cases, with one instance of an incomplete consent form and two reported incidents without patient harm.
• After implementing the WHO surgical checklist, "time out" was documented in 80% of cases, with no reported incidents.
• The new checklist was universally adopted during the audit period.

Conclusions:

• The WHO surgical checklist provides a structured framework that standardizes surgical care delivery across diverse hospital settings and specialized units.
• Effective and reliable utilization of the WHO surgical checklist requires time and practice for surgical teams.
• The implementation of the WHO checklist demonstrated a significant improvement in patient safety and adherence to critical procedural steps.