WHO Surgical Safety Checklist 

Click here to download the checklist (first edition) as a printer-friendly PDF file.

Visit the corresponding WHO page for the current edition and translations in other languages.

This checklist is not intended to be comprehensive. Additions and modifications to fit local practice are encouraged.

The goal of the WHO's Safe Surgery Saves Lives Challenge is to improve the safety of surgical care around the world by ensuring adherence to proven standards of care in all states. The WHO Surgical Safety Checklist has improved compliance with standards and decreased complications from surgery in eight pilot hospitals where it was evaluated. It identifies three phases of an operation, each corresponding to a specific period in the normal flow of work. In each phase, the checklist helps teams confirm that the critical safety steps are completed before it proceeds with the operation.

Click here to read the study published in NEJM accompanying the creation of the checklist.