Annals of medicine and surgery (2012)
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Major complications in surgery affect up to 16% of surgical procedures. Over the past 50 years, many patient safety initiatives have attempted to reduce such complications. Since the formation of the National Patient Safety Agency in 2001, there have been major advances in patient safety. ⋯ All patients are placed at risk in the surgical environment. It is crucial that this risk is minimised, whilst optimising the patient's outcome. In this review, recent advances in perioperative patient safety are examined and placed in context.