Veterinary anaesthetist Carl Bradbrook BVSc CertVA DipECVAA MRCVS is encouraging veterinary practices to use safety checklists in an article published in Jurox's Anaesthesia1st online newsletter this month.

Carl's article: 'Are you using a safety checklist in your practice?', focuses on the benefits of introducing a safety checklist in practice to reduce patient morbidity, mortality and to improve communication between members of the veterinary team.

He explains how a checklist helps eliminate the need to memorise every single step of a protocol and self-limit any errors that may eventually lead to a fatal or near-fatal incident, and how it should contain a limited number of elements, allow quick completion and most importantly be relevant to the situation.

The article includes information on how to introduce a safety checklist, steps to consider and how to use one in practice. 

It also contains links to downloadable tools including the Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists (AVA) safety checklist and implementation booklet and information on the association’s ‘Safer Anaesthesia Project’.  An editable safety checklist will also be available to download from the ‘Anaesthesia1ST’ blog that practices can adapt to their own requirements.

Richard Beckwith, country manager of Jurox (UK) said: "Our hugely popular Anaesthesia1ST newsletter features state-of-the-art, practical and easy to read articles to help veterinary professionals deliver 1ST class anaesthesia to all patients. Our latest edition will challenge practices to consider safety checklists as an essential part of their pre-anaesthetic routine in order to reduce the risk of mistakes."

To sign up to the Anaesthesia1ST newsletter visit the Alfaxan website – www.alfaxan.co.uk, contact your local Jurox technical sales representative or email Jurox at info@jurox.co.uk.

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