Why civility must be part of the future of surgery

The National Performance Advisory Group recently hosted the Theatres and Decontamination Conference at the Coventry Building Society Arena, covering a wide variety of issues affecting operating theatres — from the role of human factors in patient safety, sustainability and waste management, to the problem of biofilms and medical devices, and the competency framework for staff working in decontamination.

Patient safety was high on the agenda, at the event, and a key theme was the impact of incivility on the performance of surgical teams. Mark Bowers, Divisional Intervention Lead, Guys & St. Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, highlighted how hospitals have hit the headlines, in recent years, with some startling statistics following staff surveys. One organisation in particular received some high-profile negative publicity in the press, after it was revealed that 'one fifth of employees had experienced harassment or bullying'.¹

In his presentation, Mark highlighted the importance of teamworking. The definition of a team, he explained is "a group of people working towards a shared goal". Human factors and the impact of incivility on teams in safety critical sectors need to be understood within the context of research developed by the aviation industry, he asserted. The latter turned its attention to developing safer teams following a number of high-profile aeroplane crashes, in the 1970s, in which incivility and team dynamics were found to be contributing human factors.