How to Run the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist Digitally — and Make It Count for Accreditation

Who this is for

You run clinical operations at a private hospital or surgical centre. The WHO Surgical Safety Checklist is done before every procedure — verbally, by the team, before first incision. There's a paper form somewhere. But if a medico-legal review starts and the first question is "show me the pre-surgical documentation for that specific case from four months ago," you know the current system doesn't produce an answer you can stand behind.

What you can achieve

• Every procedure has a complete, attributed, timestamped checklist completed by the named clinicians who were in theatre — not a paper form that was signed at some point by someone
• Wrong-site, wrong-patient, and wrong-procedure risks are structurally reduced through enforced sequential phases that follow the WHO Sign-In / Time-Out / Sign-Out structure
• JCI accreditation auditors can retrieve any procedure's complete safety checklist by date, theatre, or surgeon name in under 60 seconds
• Medico-legal review of any case starts from a complete, tamper-evident record — not a frantic search for a paper form that may or may not be filed correctly
• Individual clinician attribution means every safety confirmation is tied to a specific named person and role — "team confirmed" stops being a record and becomes an actual individual attestation
• Surgical compliance rates are visible in real time — you don't need to wait for an audit cycle to know whether the safety protocol is being followed consistently

The workflow in Hakiki

1. 1
   Patient Identity ConfirmedYes or no

   Confirm patient name, date of birth, and ID match the consent form and surgical schedule — before anaesthesia

2. 2
   Surgical Site Marked & ConfirmedYes or no

   Confirm correct surgical site is marked and verified by the operating surgeon — with surgeon's ID

3. 3
   Anaesthesia Safety Check CompleteYes or no

   Confirm anaesthesia machine, medications, and emergency drugs have been checked by anaesthetist

4. 4
   Allergies ConfirmedYes or no

   Confirm patient allergy status has been reviewed and communicated to all team members

5. 5
   Team Introductions by RoleYes or no

   Confirm all theatre team members have introduced themselves by name and role — WHO checklist Sign-In requirement

6. 6
   Surgeon Confirms ProcedureYes or no

   Operating surgeon verbally confirms procedure, site, and patient identity — WHO Time-Out requirement

7. 7
   Critical Events ReviewedYes or no

   Surgeon confirms anticipated critical steps and blood loss estimates have been communicated to team

8. 8
   Sterile Instrument Count ConfirmedYes or no

   Scrub nurse confirms initial instrument, sponge, and needle count before incision

9. 9
   Imaging DisplayedYes or no

   Confirm relevant imaging is displayed and reviewed in theatre before first incision — if applicable

10. 10
    Post-Procedure Instrument CountYes or no

    Confirm instrument, sponge, and needle count is correct and complete before wound closure — WHO Sign-Out

11. 11
    Specimen LabelledYes or no

    Confirm any specimens are correctly labelled with patient name, procedure, and date

12. 12
    Surgeon & Anaesthetist Sign-OffYes or no

    Both surgeon and anaesthetist confirm procedure is complete and patient is cleared for recovery — with individual IDs and timestamp

Hakiki features used