Surgical Safety Checklist Enhances Patient Safety at HMC

Doha, July 17 (QNA) - Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has implemented an enhanced specialized surgical safety protocol throughout all its hospitals, in a major boost to delivering safer patient care. The Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC), developed by the World Healthcare Organization (WHO), is designed to introduce a more standardized approach to the treatment of surgical patients by improving communication, enhancing teamwork and reducing preventable complications and errors. The SSC is similar in concept to the type of safety checklist that pilots use before every flight to reduce the chances of human error. "The introduction of tailored safety protocol is one of several new measures being implemented throughout HMC to support the delivery of the safest and most effective care for our patients," Professor Michael Richmond, HMC chief of medical, academic and research affairs said. The WHO study has documented the benefits of surgical safety checklists for hospitals and patients, in terms of lowered deaths and lowered surgical procedural errors. In turn, this helps save lives and improves healthcare delivery. "With the help of an expert multinational, interdisciplinary team who have carefully studied the WHO checklist, we have created a specialized Operating Theatre Surgical Safety Checklist, to meet Hamad's specific needs," said Dr. Abdulla Al Ansari, chairman of the department of surgery at HMC. "I strongly believe that this is an important safety protocol that will truly benefit every hospital and surgical team and contribute to improvements in patient safety." "While our surgical teams have always used multiple safety measures in the past, these have varied depending on the teams involved. By introducing a standardized set of safety protocols in our hospitals, we can ensure greater consistency and improve surgical outcomes for our patients," added Dr. Al Ansari. The SSC has a range of standard items which the surgical team checks immediately before and after a patient's procedure. It includes confirmation by the surgical team of the patient's name, the details of the planned procedure, if the patient has any allergies or if other potential complications need to be considered by the team during the operation. "The leadership team at HMC is committed to reinforcing a strong safety culture within the organization. They have worked with teams from across the Corporation to introduce international best practice designed to imbed safety protocols in all processes involving care of our patients," said Dr. Moza Al Ishaq, assistant executive director of risk management and patient safety at HMC. HMC recently conducted workshops to introduce surgery, anesthesiology, and nursing staff to the SSC. The workshops were run in collaboration with Partners Healthcare International, which is affiliated with Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. HMC is the principal public healthcare provider for the State of Qatar. It manages eight hospitals along with further specialist clinical, educational and research facilities, and is growing in capacity each year around the diverse needs of the evolving population. The corporation aims to become an academic health system; a leading center in clinical care, medical education and research that transforms into clinical advancements. (QNA)