Implementation of an endoscopy safety checklist

Implementation of an endoscopy safety checklist (The Wolfson Unit for Endoscopy, St. Mark’s Hospital, Harrow, UK)

Patient safety and quality improvement are increasingly prioritised across all areas of healthcare. Errors in endoscopy are common but often inconsequential and therefore go uncorrected. A series of minor errors, however, may culminate in a significant adverse event. This is unsurprising given the rising volume and complexity of cases coupled with shift working patterns.

There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that surgical safety checklists can prevent errors and thus positively impact on patient morbidity and mortality. Consequently, surgical checklists are mandatory for all procedures. Many UK hospitals are mandating the use of similar checklists for endoscopy. There is no guidance on how best to implement endoscopy checklists nor any measure of their usefulness in endoscopy. This article outlines lessons learnt from innovating service delivery in our unit.

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Guidance
BSG, JAG, CSH Joint consensus on practical measures for environmental sustainability in endoscopy
clinical-resource/Green-endoscopy-British-Society-of-Gastroenter1
This consensus on sustainable endoscopy was published in October 2022.

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Guidelines
Endoscopy
BSG guidelines on sedation in gastrointestinal endoscopy
clinical-resource/Green-endoscopy-British-Society-of-Gastroenterolo
This BSG guideline was published in September 2023.