Summary
A surgical fire is one that occurs in, on or around a patient undergoing a surgical procedure and is an internationally recognised patient safety issue. On 16 December 2021, Members of Parliament held a general debate on preventing surgical fires in Westminster Hall. In this article, the Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP) sets out its response to issues raised in the debate.
Content
Following the recent House of Commons debate on the prevention of surgical fires in the NHS, the AfPP is calling for:
- the Expert Working Group to reconvene and produce guidance on the prevention of surgical fires for review by NHS England.
- the four recommendations made by the Expert Working Group in their 2020 report to be implemented in both the NHS and the independent sector:
- Professional associations to explore the value of a national awareness campaign for healthcare professionals.
- Mandating of surgical perioperative education and training syllabus on surgical fire prevention.
- NHS England to explore how to evolve the procurement process of sanitising products, to reduce surgical fire risk and encourage procurement of proven surgical fire-safe technologies.
- NHS England to explore the development of a standardised patient safety alert system that highlights the risks of surgical fires to the health service, and sets out clear and effective actions for providers on this safety-critical issue.
In the article, the AfPP also expresses hope that the Expert Working Group can begin to produce guidelines in 2022 and the UK can move forward with getting surgical fires recognised as Never Events.
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