Safety in the surgical journey
The World Health Organization (WHO) urged for elevated surgical safety standards with the goal of mitigating preventable harm and saving more lives. Heeding the call of the WHO, representative health leaders from the Philippine College of Surgeons (PCS), the Philippine Society of Anesthesiologists (PSA), Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations (PAPO) and global healthcare company MSD in the Philippines gathered to discuss and decide upon the next steps to improve patients’ safety throughout their surgical journeys in a forum held at Shangri-La The Fort Hotel in Bonifacio Global City.
According to WHO, surgical complications harm about seven million patients each year. At least one million of these patients could be at risk of death during or immediately following a procedure. To address the need to enforce patient surgical safety, the Department of Health (DOH), since 2008, has been implementing the National Policy on Patient Safety to ensure that patient safety is institutionalized as a fundamental principle of the health care delivery system. The representative leaders highlighted that a patient-centered approach and collaborative efforts are vital in shaping practices that would further enhance patient safety and patient outcomes in surgical cases.
“Surgery should be safe. This is the operative environment that patients deserve. That’s why it is essential that surgery is guided by modern safety principles, open communication, as well as a multi-stakeholder cooperation,” stressed Maria Fatima “Girlie” GarciaLorenzo, president of PAPO.
Dr. Alejandro Dizon, president of the PCS, explained the need for a “checklist” prior to surgery, which covers the essential items for a smooth procedure. He said that a great example of this is the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist that requires confirmation of the completion of tasks before the procedure can move forward. Dr. Dizon also reinforced the requirement for greater quality assurance protocols at hospitals, which would improve the monitoring of procedures.
Dr. Erlinda Oracion, clinical quality director of The Medical City, member of the Philippine Society of Anesthesiologists, and Philippine representative to the Safety and Quality of Practice Committee of the World Federation of Societies of Anesthesiologists, echoed that a more consistent usage of the surgical checklist, and potentially building comprehensive guidelines for high-volume surgical procedures in hospitals, are essential to putting safety first throughout the surgical journey.
Dr. Oracion highlighted the importance of responsible use of anesthesia, a drug that causes insensitivity to pain, in allowing for a more controlled environment that benefits both the patient and the doctor during surgical procedures.
For her part, PSA member Dr. Claudia Rafanan, chairman of the Anesthesia Department of Cebu’s Chong Hua Hospital, shared the current practices that have helped the Chong Hua Hospital in giving the safest and best care possible for patients. She expounded further on anesthesia, and the right use of muscle relaxants, and reversal agents that significantly helped lessen surgical risks during high volume surgical cases.
Dr. Rafanan explained how reversal agent sugammadex was given to 74 patients while 76 patients received the usual care. There were no cases of residual paralysis for those given the reversal agent compared with the 33 out of the 76 who developed the condition, as reported in the 2015 British Journal of Anesthesia.
Global healthcare leader MSD in the Philippines also reinforced its commitment to support patient safety initiatives and the next steps proposed by the representative leaders during the event. “We are continuously engaging and communicating with stakeholders to see how we can contribute further in this endeavor,” said Dr. Maria Carolina Emil.