Melbourne - Medianet International-AsiaNet/ - The President of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Dr Andrew Sutherland, said in Hong Kong today that the most critical issue for surgery worldwide was safety.
Next month the College is supporting a World Health Organisation initiative of Safe Surgery Saves Lives where strategies and tools for reducing the rising incidence of deaths and complications from surgery will be highlighted world wide.
The College is joining with the Hong Kong College of Surgeons at a co-joint Annual Scientific Congress in Hong Kong this week, where Achievement Through Collaboration is the theme.
There are few people and almost no surgeons who are not terrified at the prospect of an operation, for patients it is fear of the unknown, for surgeons it is the fear of the known.
One of the main features of a safe system is good communication between the surgeon and their patient and between the surgeon and the surgical team.
What we want to ensure is that in hospital patients get the right operation on the correct body part, with safe anaesthesia, established infection control measures and effective surgical teamwork and that is the responsibility of everyone involved in the surgery. We can all improve, surgeons needs to be more open in disclosing the risk to the patients of an operation and the patient should not be afraid to ask about the complications that may happen.
Everyone involved in surgery from the operating room cleaner, to the patient, the nurse, the surgeon and the hospital CEO has a responsibility to become more involved in effective surgical care.
In some countries now the surgeon asks the patient or their relatives to mark the site of the surgery on the patients body and that is not a bad idea.
Infection control is another area where we can all do better and it is in the patients interest to ask a doctor, a surgeon, or a nurse if they have washed their hands before they examine them that would considerably cut down infection rates.
Worldwide there are estimated to be around 230 million operations a year, one for every 25 people. Complications rates are rising with seven million disabling complications and one million deaths per year
CONTACT: Fiona Gillies, RACS Media & PR Manager on +61 407
339 556 or +852 2132 4886
SOURCE: Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
Next month the College is supporting a World Health Organisation initiative of Safe Surgery Saves Lives where strategies and tools for reducing the rising incidence of deaths and complications from surgery will be highlighted world wide.
The College is joining with the Hong Kong College of Surgeons at a co-joint Annual Scientific Congress in Hong Kong this week, where Achievement Through Collaboration is the theme.
There are few people and almost no surgeons who are not terrified at the prospect of an operation, for patients it is fear of the unknown, for surgeons it is the fear of the known.
One of the main features of a safe system is good communication between the surgeon and their patient and between the surgeon and the surgical team.
What we want to ensure is that in hospital patients get the right operation on the correct body part, with safe anaesthesia, established infection control measures and effective surgical teamwork and that is the responsibility of everyone involved in the surgery. We can all improve, surgeons needs to be more open in disclosing the risk to the patients of an operation and the patient should not be afraid to ask about the complications that may happen.
Everyone involved in surgery from the operating room cleaner, to the patient, the nurse, the surgeon and the hospital CEO has a responsibility to become more involved in effective surgical care.
In some countries now the surgeon asks the patient or their relatives to mark the site of the surgery on the patients body and that is not a bad idea.
Infection control is another area where we can all do better and it is in the patients interest to ask a doctor, a surgeon, or a nurse if they have washed their hands before they examine them that would considerably cut down infection rates.
Worldwide there are estimated to be around 230 million operations a year, one for every 25 people. Complications rates are rising with seven million disabling complications and one million deaths per year
CONTACT: Fiona Gillies, RACS Media & PR Manager on +61 407
339 556 or +852 2132 4886
SOURCE: Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
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