Patient safety in surgery: An investigation of the near-miss cases encountered by the surgical team while applying the surgical safety checklist

The study was conducted as a descriptive study in order to investigate the incidents that surgical team members encountered near-miss cases during the use of the Surgical Safety Checklist. The research was carried out between June 25, 2018 and September 7, 2018 in the surgical services and operating theaters of three public hospitals in Ankara. The sample of the study was the surgical services of Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University Yenimahalle Training and Research Hospital, Gazi University Health Research and Application Center, Ankara Atatürk Training(n=94) and Research Hospital and the surgical team members (n=293) working in the operating room (anesthesiologist, nurse, surgeon, surgical technician, anesthesia technician) formed (n=387). Data were obtained with the individual Data Sheet and Surgical Safety Checklist Application Form. Chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis (p<0.05). As a result of the research, it was determined that 27.1% of the surgical team members working in surgical service and operating rooms did not receive training on the Surgical Safety Checklist. It was found that 72.9% of surgical team members received training on Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC) and 37.0% said that there were near-miss cases and medical errors that prevented this practice during the use of SSC. Although 90.2% of the near-miss cases were known and 37.0% of the respondents, the rate of those reporting the event was determined as 7.8%. The near-miss cases most commonly encountered by the participants in the study were found to be 26.0% absence of side marking, 23.0% not to remove jewelry, and 18.0% to be full. In addition, 26.2% carelessness as a cause of medical error. As a result of the study, it was determined that surgical team members were faced with near-miss cases during the use of SSC of nurses, especially those with high rates of use. Early detection of these errors will prevent the occurrence of preventable medical errors. Increasing training and making positive feedback to surgical team members will increase the use of SSC form and event notifications. Keywords: Near-miss case, patient safety, ssc, surgery