This is more than a statement. It’s a call to action.
We invite all healthcare workers, hospitals, societies, and citizens to sign:
🌐 helsinkipatientsafety.org
Together, we can make perioperative care safer for all.
#HelsinkiPatientSafety #EA25 #PatientSafety #Anaesthesia #Anaesthesiology
Errors must be studied, not criminalised.
🌟 Learn from Excellence
📋 Report incidents
📈 Audit
🔍 Investigate without blame
It’s how we get better.
15/16
Every department should publish an annual patient safety report.
Track what’s improved, what failed, and what was learned.
This isn't red tape — it's lifesaving feedback.
14/16
🧠 No one’s memory is perfect under pressure.
Checklists save lives.
All institutions should implement:
✅ Pre-op assessment
✅ Equipment checks
✅ Infection control
✅ ALS protocols & standardised cardiac arrest call: 2222
13/16
All hospitals must meet minimum safety monitoring standards.
This includes:
📉 Continuous capnography for ALL instrumented airways
😴 Safe sedation protocols
🧪 Medication handling standards
🧾 Crisis checklists
12/16
Yes, sustainability matters.
But the patient on the table comes first.
We support greener practices without compromising safety.
11/16
Would you board a plane knowing your pilot had no sleep?
We operate on patients.
Fatigue impairs judgement.
Hospitals must have Fatigue Management Policies.
10/16
📣 “Speak up” culture is essential
👂 Managers must “listen up”
🔐 No punishment for raising safety concerns
💡 Staff safety is patient safety
9/16
New tech, including AI, must be evaluated for safety first — not hype.
Anaesthesiology embraces innovation, but never at the cost of our patients.
8/16
Human error isn’t just “bad luck.”
It’s predictable — and preventable.
We commit to working across teams to improve systems, not blame individuals.
That includes fatigue, communication & workload.
7/16
No safety without support.
Funders and institutions must:
💰 Resource safe staffing
📚 Provide protected time for simulation-based safety training
👥 Support wellbeing
6/16
JP Lomas
When harm happens:
🔹 Explain promptly
🔹 Minimise injury
🔹 Investigate independently
🔹 Share findings
Blame helps no one. Transparency helps everyone.
5/16
The updated Declaration is backed by anaesthesia societies across Europe.
It’s aligned with global safety efforts from WHO, WFSA, and more.
Patient safety is a right, not a bonus.
It’s everyone’s job — but we must lead.
4/16
Every year:
🌍 310 million surgeries worldwide
🇪🇺 20 million in Europe
⚠️ 15% serious complications
🕯 8 million deaths
Anaesthesiology must lead on safety.
It’s time to act.
3/16
Anaesthesiologists safeguard patient care across:
– Operating theatres
– ICU
– Emergency Medicine
– Pain & perioperative medicine
…anywhere patients are vulnerable.
This Declaration reaffirms our duty: do no avoidable harm.
2/16
💬 What do 310 million surgical patients worldwide each year have in common? Anaesthesia.
Yet 8 million still die — often from avoidable harm.
The new Helsinki Declaration on Patient Safety in Anaesthesiology 2.0 [https://helsinkipatientsafety.org] aims to change that.
👇 A thread 🧵
1/16
Reminders in inboxes of @rcoanews.bsky.social members to complete this soon-to-close consultation (a potentially missed opportunity to insert the words “assist an anaesthetist” and resolve differential access to the safest care from those unable to advocate for themselves)
