What the checklist is for

The Veterinary Surgical Safety Checklist is designed to support safe operating theatre practice and reduce preventable peri-anaesthetic risk. This WHO-style checklist improves communication between the veterinary surgeon and theatre nursing team during the pre-operative “time-out” phase, ensuring that critical details are confirmed before induction and incision.

When to use it

This checklist is recommended for:
• Routine soft-tissue surgery
• Orthopaedic surgery including TTA, MPL, fracture repair
• BOAS and TECA-LBO procedures
• Abdominal and thoracic surgery
• Emergency surgery including GDV, C-section and trauma cases

This resource supports veterinary surgical safety but does not replace individual patient assessment or local hospital protocols. Clinical judgement must always be applied.

What the checklist includes

The surgical safety checklist covers:
• Patient identity and planned procedure
• Surgical site and side confirmation
• Analgesia and CRI plan
• Antibiotic timing check
• Equipment and instrument readiness
• Positioning and warming plan
• Time-out confirmation before incision
• Recovery and post-operative instructions