Surgical Safety Checklist Compliance

archived rates

About this patient safety indicator:
A surgical safety checklist is a tool which prompts surgical teams (surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, and others) to discuss and reinforce together critical information at three distinct phases for each and every surgery:

1. The Briefing/Sign In – which is done before surgery with the team and the conscious patient (prior to anaesthesia)
2. The Time Out – which is done just before the surgery begins/skin incision
3. Debriefing/Sign Out – which is done just before the patient leaves the OR

The Ministry is collecting the number of times all three phases of the surgical safety checklist is performed compared to the total number of surgeries performed.

The checklist helps to assure that:

• No crucial items are overlooked by the team by promoting communication and teamwork between surgical team members
• That all equipment is available
• Variations in routine procedure are made apparent to everyone
• And that everyone is aware of how the case is expected to proceed in order to help reduce preventable complications