Background
This review aimed to assess surgical safety checklist compliance (SSC) and evaluate surgical team attitudes, post checklist implementation.
Method
A thorough search of MEDLINE and PUBMED databases for English language studies using any adapted form of the WHO SSC was conducted. In total 26 studies; 13 assessing SSC compliance and 13 investigating surgical team attitudes of the checklist, were evaluated.
Results
Compliance studies demonstrated a checklist initiation rate of >90 %, but showed completion rates to be significantly lower across studies. ‘Sign out’ was the most poorly performed phase (<50 %) with ‘Time out’ being the best. Verification of patient identity and procedure demonstrated high (>90 %) compliance, while ‘Verification of team-members’ varied greatly. Surgical team attitudes noted improved teamwork, communication, patient safety and staff awareness of adverse events.
Conclusion
SSC compliance is highly dependent on staff perceptions, training and effective leadership. While, surgical teams have positive attitudes towards the SSC, resolving key barriers will improve compliance across all phases of SCC.
