Authors (including presenting author) :
Hui GK
Affiliation :
Department of Anaesthesia, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital
Introduction :
Inadvertent wrong-site block is a rare but important complication in the perioperative journey. At worst, a wrong-site anaesthetic block (WSAB) may lead the team to continue to wrong-site surgery. A procedural time-out has been proven as an effective means to improve teamwork and preventing WSAB internationally. With reference from Safe Anaesthesia Liaison Group (SALG) in UK, SAFETY CHECK BEFORE YOU BLOCK campaign was intended to reduce the incidence of inadvertent wrong-site block before insertion of needle.
Objectives :
To propagate locally the message of “Safety Check Before You Block” to the peers that the stop moment should occur before needle insertion in the block process to increase the integration of pre-operation block by correct patient, completed consent and laterality mark prior to the procedure proceed.
Methodology :
The campaign of “Safety Check before You Block” has been conducting since January 2025 in PYNEH that included the following strategies:
1. Adopt the international standard on “Safety Check before you Block” in our facility as standard practice.
2. Provide education for staff to ensure their readiness and enhance their engagement for the campaign.
3. Place “Safety Check before you Block” posters where they are clearly visible to serve as a reminder and promote the best practice.
4. Implement a clinical audit between 3rd February 2025 to 28th February2025 to monitor uptake and compliance.
Result & Outcome :
Strategy 1 to 3 had been completed since 3rd January 2025. The respective audit will be carried out from 3rd to 28th February 2025 and the results are pending.
