Anestéziológia a intenzívna medicína 1/2013

Implementation of activities WHO Safe surgery saves lives and Helsinki declaration into praxis

World Health Organisation (WHO), societies of surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and patients had prepared and in 2008 introduced the initiative “Safe Surgery Saves Lives”. This initiative was embraced also in Europe and accepted also by Slovak Society of Aneasthesiologists. In this initiative team cooperation of physicians, nurses and patients is emphasised. The checklist with most important items was prepared that should be filled in before, during and after surgery. The purpose of the checklist is to ensure that all steps that should be done are really done. It should not bring more work; it is just a control that the patient has been fully prepared for surgery. If the team has no intention to fill in the checklist, or the time cannot be allocated, then the team is not properly prepared to perform surgery. Helsinki Declaration on patient safety has been signed on June 14, 2010 during the annual Euroanaesthesia meeting in Helsinki and was published as Helsinki Declaration for Patient Safety in Anaesthesiology. According the Declaration the safety of the patient during perioperative and postoperative period should be secured, including pain treatment. In this article we would like to demonstrate experiences from different countries of Europe and also our experiences with introducing those initiatives.

Keywords: safety of surgical patient, perioperative care, Helsinki Declaration, checklist, recommendations