Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- Anaesthesia
- Medication used to remove pain or sensation, ranging from numbing one area to making the patient fully unconscious for surgery.
- Anaesthetist
- A doctor trained to give anaesthesia and monitor the patient's vital functions during a procedure.
- Antibiotic prophylaxis
- Giving an antibiotic before or during a procedure to reduce the risk of infection.
- Anticoagulation
- Medicines that thin the blood and slow clotting, which may need to be checked or paused before a procedure.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
- Circulating practitioner
- A theatre team member who works outside the sterile field, fetching equipment and supporting the procedure.
- Commissioner
- An organisation that arranges and pays for healthcare services on behalf of patients.
- Comorbidity
- An additional health condition a patient has alongside the one being treated.
- Contemporaneously
- Written down at the time the action happens, rather than from memory afterwards.
- Cross-match
- A blood test that checks donor blood is compatible with the patient's before a transfusion.
- Decision making and consent (General Medical Council, 2020)
- Professional guidance from the doctors' regulator on how to involve patients in decisions and obtain valid consent.
- Endoscopy
- Examining inside the body using a thin tube with a camera, such as during a gastroscopy or colonoscopy.
- Fasting status
- Whether the patient has gone without food or drink for the required period before anaesthesia or sedation.
- General Medical Council (GMC)
- The body that registers doctors in the United Kingdom and sets the standards they must meet.
- Good governance
- Regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, requiring providers to run safe, well-managed systems and keep accurate records.
- Group-and-save
- A blood test that records the patient's blood group so compatible blood can be provided quickly if needed.
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
- The regulations setting the fundamental standards that providers of regulated care must meet, enforced by the Care Quality Commission.
- Implant
- A device or material placed inside the body during a procedure, such as a joint replacement, mesh or breast implant.
- Indelible pen
- A permanent marker whose mark stays visible after skin cleaning and draping, used to mark the surgical site.
- Induction of anaesthesia
- The point at which a patient is given anaesthetic to start the process of being made unconscious.
- Interventional procedure
- A treatment that enters the body through a small opening or under imaging guidance rather than open surgery.
- Invasive procedure
- Any procedure that breaks the skin or a body lining, enters a body cavity, or places something inside the body.
- Laterality
- Which side of the body (left or right) a procedure is to be carried out on.
- Local Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures (LocSSIPs)
- A clinic's own written safety steps for each specific procedure, developed from the national standards and tailored to its services.
- Mental Capacity Act 2005
- The law that protects and supports people who may be unable to make particular decisions for themselves.
- Mucous membrane
- The moist lining of body openings such as the mouth, nose, gut or genitals.
- National Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures (NatSSIPs 2)
- National safety standards setting out the step-by-step and organisational checks that prevent avoidable harm during invasive procedures.
- Near miss
- An event that could have caused harm but did not, by chance or because it was caught in time.
- Never Event
- A serious, largely preventable patient safety incident, such as wrong-site surgery, that should not happen if national guidance is followed.
- Operator
- The surgeon or clinician who actually performs the procedure on the patient.
- Prophylaxis
- Treatment given to prevent a problem from occurring, rather than to treat one that already exists.
- Pulse oximeter
- A small device, usually clipped to a finger, that measures the oxygen level in the patient's blood.
- Registered Manager
- The person registered with the regulator as responsible for the day-to-day running of a service.
- Regulated activity
- A type of care or treatment the law requires a provider to register with the regulator to deliver.
- Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment)
- The part of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 requiring care to be provided safely, including avoiding preventable harm.
- Scrub practitioner
- A theatre team member working within the sterile field who manages instruments and counts swabs, needles and sharps.
- Sedation
- Medication that relaxes a patient and reduces awareness during a procedure without making them fully unconscious.
- Sharps
- Needles, blades and other items that can cut or puncture the skin.
- Sign In
- The first phase of the Surgical Safety Checklist, completed before anaesthesia or before the procedure starts.
- Sign Out
- The final phase of the Surgical Safety Checklist, completed before the patient leaves the procedure room.
- Site marking
- Marking the correct operative site on the body with a permanent pen before the procedure begins.
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
- A written, step-by-step instruction setting out how a particular task must be carried out consistently and safely.
- Stop the line
- The authority for any team member to halt a procedure immediately if they have a safety concern, without fear of blame.
- Surgical Safety Checklist
- A structured list of safety checks, completed in three phases, to confirm the right patient, site and procedure and prevent avoidable harm.
- Time Out
- The middle phase of the Surgical Safety Checklist, a team pause immediately before the procedure starts.
- Venous thromboembolism (VTE)
- A blood clot forming in a vein, including deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, which preventive measures aim to avoid.
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- The United Nations agency for international public health, which publishes the original Surgical Safety Checklist.