Surgical Safety Checklists: Policy, Procedure & Practice.

Posted on: January 6, 2023

The following is intended for all Clinical Care Leaders in settings requiring completion of the SURGICAL SAFETY CHECKLIST.

Surgical check capture.jpg

Background:

  • In 2012, the Ministry of Health and Island Health Board of Directors mandated the implementation of the Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC) to mitigate risk and improve surgical team communication and patient safety in the Operating Room (OR).

  • Additionally, the SSC is a required operational practice (ROP) as per Accreditation Canada and is considered a critical component of the safe and effective management of our surgical patients.

  • Focused attention is required by all team members to ensure that the quality of engagement in completing all 3 phases of the SSC remains a top priority.​

What You Need to Know:

  • A new SSC poster for distribution is available here.

  • Current Island Health information regarding the SSC is available here. (including the SSC policy and copies of the checklist itself).

  • 100% completion of the SSC is expected and required at all times.

  • All staff are empowered to ensure the SSC is completed with accuracy and care.

  • The 3 phases of the SSC include:

    • Before induction

    • Before skin incision

    • Upon sign out​

What You Need to Do:

  • Print and post the poster​ on your units and distribute broadly.

  • Ensure you are having daily huddles with clinical teams to discuss and elevate the importance of the SSC.

  • In these huddles, identify any gaps in practice or barriers to completing an accurate SSC so we can respond, remove barriers and support our teams to provide the highest quality care.

  • Bring opportunities, barriers and ideas back to our leader engagement and planning sessions.

  • Ensure all team members understand and are empowered to ensure 100% completion of the SSC.

PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH YOUR CLINICAL/UNIT LEADERSHIP TEAMS AND CLINICAL STAFF IMMEDIATELY 

Development of a regional SSC is currently underway. The revised SSC will be integrated with the EHR to support monitoring the quality of participation, completion of all components of the checklist and to direct quality improvement efforts. The SSC Policy is being revised to incorporate recommendations coming out of recent Never Event reviews. Additional information will be shared as work advances.

We are grateful for your commitment to accountable, safe and standardized SSC practices. Please direct any questions to your leader.