Implementation of the World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist in Plastic and Reconstructive Patients

Joaquín Pérez-Guisado, Jesús M. de Haro-Padilla, Luis F. Rioja
2012 Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery  
A considerable amount of damage, both physical and financial, is likely to be prevented by using a safety surgical checklist. Based on World Health Organisation(WHO) guidelines, the Surgical Safety Checklist(SSC) was designed. The aim of this study was to analyze one year surgical safety checklist use in our plastic and reconstructive patients. Methods: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study. 1684 patients undergoing both plastic and reconstructive surgeries under general or local
more » ... were reviewed. The surgical safety checklist implementation was compulsory for all team members. The data were analyzed all together and separated by "surgeries under local anaesthesia" (SULA) and "surgeries under general anaesthesia" (SUGA). Statistical differences between "team members items implementation" and "Global implementation results compared with their objectives" were analyzed by a Chi-square test (95% confidence interval). The 3 following objectives were proposed: >90% of operations with checklist done, >90% of checklists with all the items done and >90% of checklists with at least 2 signatures presented. Results: Implementation of checklist items was higher for SULA when comparing with SUGA (94.87% vs 83.63%). Comparing team members items implementation percentages, the following order from higher to lower implementation was detected: nurse (94.66%±2.71%), overall team (88.29%±3.02%), surgeon (78.30%±3.42%) and anaesthetist (72.27±5.84%). The two first objectives were achieved but not the third due to surgeons and anaesthetists, but not the nurses. Conclusion: Surgical safety checklist implementation in plastic and reconstructive patients involves a new philosophy of organization that is easier to achieve in health workers with lower hierarchy, represented in our study by nurses and surgeon residents.
doi:10.1097/prs.0b013e3182419b1c pmid:22374042 fatcat:6ldltzsuojbtncvw6f4rssiu34