News — 2006
No matter how careful we may be, mistakes do happen in the work place. From sending complaint emails to the person you are complaining about to forgetting to make an important phone call, it happens in all work places. However, the consequences of this, while significant at the time, are not usually as vital as any errors made in the operating theatre. Mistakes made here can literally prompt life and death situations. Even when not as serious as this, they can cause lasting repercussions. Combined with this, those in high-pressured jobs can sometimes have a sense of invulnerability from mistakes and a lack of appreciation for teamwork. This sense of invulnerability has been recognised in the aviation industry as far back as three decades ago. Health chiefs are now launching a new initiative that is looking to the way aviation pilots have been trained for the last 20 years to enhance vital communication and teamwork skills in surgeons. It is being introduced in order to reduce the number of mistakes due to human error in the operating theatre. This is important, as the numbers making errors are significant. Over 3/4 of consultants admit to making errors in the operating theatre along with 68% of trainee surgeons and 44% of nurses. Those of you who attended the Pathology User Group in 2004 may remember Martin Bowman, Gael Ltd’s Sales and Marketing Director, outlining the benefits of introducing techniques borrowed from aviation into a clinical setting in order to reduce the number of errors in the operating theatre. He described how the knowledge gained in training pilots could be transferred to medical staff to help reduce the number of incidents caused by human error as both working circumstances are similar. Now the NHS has itself realised the benefits of this method. Martin also mentioned how the aviation industry’s “Dirty Dozen” of mistakes apply across the healthcare industry too. Stress, lack of teamwork and poor communication are three of the “Dirty Dozen” of common human errors that lead to mistakes in the aviation industry. The same reasons could be applied across different industry sectors and certainly they are three of the main reasons that the new initiative is looking to combat. Mistakes are caused by a variety of factors but those that occur due to human error range from technical mistakes, e.g. the way surgeons make an incision, poor handwriting and incomplete records to communication breakdowns, poor decision-making and equipment not being available. The training is specifically designed to assist in non-technical skills such as decision-making, teamwork and leadership. It is based on the accident prevention strategies which pilots have recognised for more than two decades. It could also be expanded to other areas of the NHS, including Accident & Emergency and Intensive Care Units or to any areas where there is a risk of mistakes caused by human error. Stress is a major factor in many incidences of error. It is believed this training is necessary to help surgeons with their communication and teamwork skills as 20% of surgeons do not think they perform less effectively when under stress and only 40% said they would let team members know if their workload was too much. Stressful situations and too much work can be dealt with in a team environment to help avoid errors. Important lessons have been learned in aviation pilot training from the information gathered over the last two decades. If this is integrated into the operating theatre environment, it could be a very useful tool as hospitals and aviation organisations have many similarities when it comes to safety as both rely on the avoidance of human error to maintain their safety records. For further information please contact: |