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Frequently asked questions about the Safe Surgery NZ programme

16th November, 2021

About the Safe Surgery NZ programme

Safe Surgery New Zealand (SSNZ) is a national quality improvement programme aimed at improving teamwork and communication among surgical teams, to reduce surgical harm. The programme supports all district health boards (DHBs), and several private surgical hospitals, which have implemented key interventions in operating theatres to improve teamwork and communication, including:

  • a briefing among the surgical team at the start of each day’s list of procedures
  • a poster checklist in theatres based on the World Health Organization (WHO) surgical safety checklist
  • a debriefing at the end of the day’s list of procedures
  • other communication tools. 

The programme is now managed by local DHB and private surgical hospital project teams.

Surgical safety briefing checklist, and debriefing

Surgical safety briefing checklist, and debriefing

For more information please email Safe.Surgery@hqsc.govt.nz.


Last updated: 16th November, 2021