Patient deaths cut in Paddington

They put this down to the introduction of a 'safer surgery checklist', part of a major new international study piloted at St Mary's.

The full results of the study, set up by the World Health Organisation (WHO), appear today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The checklist is intended to ensure the safe delivery of anaesthesia, appropriate prophylaxis against infection, effective teamwork by the operating theatre staff, and other essential practices in perioperative care.

Professor David Taube, medical director at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs St Mary's, said: "It is critically important that every operation we carry out is as safe as it can be.

"We want our patients and their relatives to know throughout the process that every possible step is being taken to minimise any risk to them.

"We were delighted and honoured to be involved in the WHO pilot programme at St Mary's and the checklist has been well received by operating staff

"As a Trust that carries out 115,000 surgical procedures a year, we have learned a great deal from this pilot programme.

"The results speak for themselves and show that use of the checklist can make a significant difference.

"We are now implementing the safer surgery checklist across the Trust and we hope other hospitals in the UK will do the same."

Professor Darzi, a surgeon at St Mary's Hospital and Professor of Surgery at Imperial College London, chaired a WHO working group that was instrumental in developing the checklist.