Tools & resources

WHO Surgical Safety Checklist 2009 edition

• Arabic [pdf 535kb]
• English [pdf 920kb]
• Chinese [pdf 161kb]
• French [pdf 497kb]
• Russian [pdf 112kb]
• Spanish [pdf 490kb]

Checklist implementation manual 2009 edition

• Arabic [pdf 986kb]
• Chinese [pdf 1.2Mb]
• English [pdf 418Kb]
• French [pdf 494Kb]
• Russian [pdf 553Kb]
• Spanish [pdf 505Kb]

• WHO Guidelines for Safe Surgery 2009 [pdf 1.38Mb]

Pilot study - NEJM

In 2008, the Safe Surgery Saves Lives team piloted the checklist in 8 sites across the globe. The results of this study were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in January 2009.

• NEJM article
• Click here to learn more about the pilot study

Checklist reproduction and adaptation guide

Details on how to reproduce and modify the checklist at your home institution.

• Reproduction and adaptation guidelines

Locally adapted checklists

The WHO's checklist is not intended to be comprehensive, and additions and modifications to fit local practice are encouraged. Click here to see how others have done just this.

• Adapted checklists

Other translations

• Farsi
  pdf, 111kb
• German
  pdf, 53kb
• Italian (draft)
  pdf, 42kb
• Swedish
  pdf, 174kb
• Norwegian
  pdf, 54kb
• Nynorsk (another Norwegian language)
  pdf, 54kb

Does my checklist meet the goals of the WHO's checklist?

Once you've developed your own adapted version of the checklist using the Checklist Adaptation Guide, we encourage you to consult this document to ensure that your checklist meets the goals of the WHO Checklist.

• Does my checklist meet the goals?
  pdf, 40kb

Instructional videos

These videos are intended to teach potential users how to and how not to perform the checklist in a real-world environment.

• How to use the checklist
• How NOT to use the checklist
• How to use the checklist, complex case

Frequently asked questions

Answers to questions about the checklist and its implementation

• Frequently asked questions

Starter Kit

This starter kit will help administrators, clinicians, nurses, and other patient safety personnel walk through the process of implementing the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist in a facility.

• Download Starter Kit (English only)
  pdf, 445kb

Speakers' Kit

Use this speakers' kit to teach your colleagues about the Safe Surgery Saves Lives campaign and to ask them to consider implementing the checklist at your institution.

• Speakers' Kit

Other materials

• Safe Surgery brochure - Arabic [pdf 1.76Mb]
• Safe Surgery brochure - Chinese [pdf 1.12Mb]
• Safe Surgery brochure - English [pdf 1.05Mb]
• Safe Surgery brochure - French [pdf 1.89Mb]
• Safe Surgery brochure - Spanish [pdf 1.89Mb]
• Safe Surgery Saves Lives poster
  pdf, 6.49Mb
• Articles about safe surgery
• 10 essential objectives of safe surgery
• 10 facts on safe surgery