This book is solely concerned with the surgical patient and the perioperative setting, with all of its special socio-technical and cultural problems. It covers preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative procedures as well as decision-making, and it investigates both overt and covert causes of injury and poor results. It is meant to serve as a resource for all medical professionals who deal with surgical patients. The surgical patient is one of the most vulnerable patients in the system, and this book offers a framework for comprehending and resolving numerous organisational, technical, and cultural aspects of care. Foundational concepts in safety science and related social science are presented in the first section. The second describes numerous mistakes and occurrences that take place in the perioperative setting and highlights obstacles to reaching ideal surgical results.
