Introduction: Surgical procedures require meticulous attention to detail and adherence to safety protocols to minimize errors and ensure positive patient outcomes. The World Health Organization (WHO) advocates for standardized safety protocols in surgical settings, including the use of surgical safety checklists to improve communication and teamwork among healthcare professionals. Evaluating the implementation and adherence to WHO surgical safety checklists is crucial for enhancing patient safety and reducing surgical errors. Materials and Methods: An observational study was conducted in the surgical department of a tertiary care hospital. Healthcare professionals directly involved in surgical procedures, including surgeons, nurses, and surgical technicians, were included. Adherence to WHO surgical safety checklists was observed and documented in real-time during surgical procedures, focusing on preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative checklist items. Participant demographics and characteristics were recorded for analysis. Adherence rates were calculated and compared among different healthcare professional roles and experience levels using descriptive and statistical analyses. Results: Baseline demographic information revealed a diverse sample of healthcare professionals, with surgeons being the largest professional group. Overall adherence to WHO surgical safety checklists was high, with preoperative checklist items demonstrating the highest adherence rate. Surgeons exhibited the highest adherence rate to surgical safety checklists, followed by nurses and surgical technicians. Adherence rates were positively correlated with increasing years of experience, with healthcare professionals with more than 10 years of experience demonstrating the highest adherence rate. Conclusion: Evaluating adherence to WHO surgical safety checklists is essential for improving patient safety and reducing surgical errors. Future research should continue to explore factors influencing adherence and develop strategies to optimize implementation and adherence to safety protocols in surgical settings.

Surgical procedures require meticulous attention to detail and adherence to safety protocols to minimize errors and ensure positive patient outcomes.