If a recent study is any indication, you may have to resort to extreme measures to get some OR staffs to consistently complete the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist.
Researchers in London tried various strategies and found only one produced 100% compliance —barring patients from post-surgery recovery areas until the checklist was completed.
Other strategies — emphasizing education, for example — improved performance, but never to 100%. Moreover, after each initiative, compliance began to dip again over time. Among the factors cited by staff personnel for failure to complete the checklist were lack of understanding; perceived lack of time; and overall lack of communication, co-ordination and defined responsibility. The surgical time out was the biggest stumbling block.
“Despite clear evidence of benefit of the WHO surgical safety checklist,” say the authors, “the ‘stick’ philosophy of refusing entry to the recovery area without a complete checklist was the key to its successful implementation.”
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