[Safety Culture in Orthopaedic Surgery and Trauma Surgery - Where Are We Today?]

The development of a new safety culture in orthopaedics and trauma surgery needs to be based on the knowledge of the status quo. The objective of this research was therefore to perform a survey of orthopaedic and trauma surgeons to achieve a subjective assessment of the frequency and causes of "insecurities" or errors in daily practice.

Based on current literature, an online questionnaire was created by a team of experts (26 questions total) and was sent via e-mail to all active members of a medical society (DGOU) in April 2015. This was followed by two reminder e-mails. The survey was completed in May 2015. The results were transmitted electronically, anonymously and voluntarily into a database and evaluated by univariate analyses.

799 active members took part in the survey. 65% of the interviewed people stated that they noticed mistakes in their own clinical work environment at least once a week. The main reasons for these mistakes were "time pressure", "lack of communication", "lack of staff" and "stress". Technical mistakes or lack of knowledge were not of primary importance.

The survey indicated that errors in orthopaedics and trauma surgery are observed regularly. "Human factors" were regarded as a major cause. In order to develop a new safety culture in orthopaedics and trauma surgery, new approaches must focus on the human factor.