Every year around 10,000 patients in Sweden are injured due to errors committed during operations. In the operating department at Mora hospital, the so-called black box method is used, where all operations are recorded with sound and video.
A method they believe increases patient safety during operations, and the surgeons believe that more regions should follow suit.
– I believe that it should be a matter of course that operations in Sweden are recorded with sound and video, says Lars Göran Larsson, chief physician at the surgical clinic at Mora hospital.
The surgeons wear 3D glasses and can use them to see the operation in great detail on the screens in the room. The entire procedure is also recorded with both sound and video and then saved in the patient’s medical record.
Thanks to the method, it has also been possible to quickly identify errors in operations and thus save patients from suffering.
– When you have both audio and video recording, it becomes calmer in the operating room. There will be more focus on the operation itself. And that way it will be a safer surgery, says Lars Göran Larsson.
More regions can consider the method
TV4 Nyheterna’s mapping shows that three regions in the country are similarly recording their operations today. When asked if this is something the regions could consider introducing in the future, 13 regions answered yes.
At the Norwegian Medical Ethics Council, they are fundamentally positive about filmed operations, but at the same time point to the importance of considering personal integrity.
– It is clear that when you are lying on an operating table and the operation is documented through filming, you are exposed in some way, but at the same time, I also think it is important to think about what are the advantages? I see a great benefit from this documentation both for the patient in question but also for other patients and future operations, says Sven-Erik Söder, chairman of the Norwegian Medical Ethics Council.