In 2008, the World Health Organization developed a surgery checklist aimed at improving patient safety in the operating room by reducing complications associated with surgical procedures.
Following an international pilot study that showed use of the safe surgery checklist resulted in decreased morbidity and mortality in surgical patients, the Canadian Patient Safety Institute and a national working group adapted the WHO checklist into a Canadian version.
The Safe Surgery Checklist (SSC) is designed to assist surgical teams to reduce the number of preventable surgical complications, improve efficiency and further improve surgical outcomes for patients. Use of an approved AHS surgical checklist is a requirement for accreditation.
The SSC helps focus the entire team on patient safety at three critical stages, or phases, during the surgical procedure or intervention:
Use of the Safe Surgery Checklist is tracked across the province and reported quarterly. Safe Surgery Checklist Auditors at each site complete observational audits, which form the basis of the quarterly compliance reports.
AHS staff interested in learning more about Auditor training are encouraged to visit MyLearningLink on Insite (requires AHS login).
Safe Surgery Checklist
(AHS approved)
Resources for Surgical Teams
Alternate Versions
Policy / Process
