Implementation of the World Health Organisation Surgical Safety Checklist: implications for anaesthetists

The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists recently endorsed the World Health Organization's Surgical Safety Checklist. This laudable attempt to reduce adverse events during surgery has already demonstrated a 40% reduction in mortality and a reduction in complications by over a third in an international multi-centre trial. Despite these encouraging results, we believe the ultimate success of the checklist will depend largely on how it is implemented.