Updates to Local Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures (LocSSIPs) published

The FICM and ICS have today announced the publication of revised procedural checklists, Local Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures (LocSSIPs).

The checklists have been published in the Journal of the Intensive Care Society and are also available as downloadable and editable PDFs from the Faculty's and Society’s websites.

The checklists focus on those procedures, which are commonly performed in Critical Care Units (intubation, bronchoscopy, intercostal drain insertion, tracheostomy insertion, central venous catheter insertion). These have been designed to enable departments to use and adapt them to make them unit specific. 

First produced in 2017, these updates take into account learning from reported patient safety incidents, some of which have been associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. The publication of NatSSIPs 2 has been acknowledged during the update. 

Commenting on the launch of the revised checklists Dr Clare Windsor, Patient Safety Lead at the Society said:

“We are delighted to have been able to revise these essential checklists. Our aim is to continue to improve safety and reduce incidents related to a number of the commonly performed procedures in Critical Care Units.”

Co-lead Author Dr Peter Hersey, Patient Safety Lead at the Faculty said: 

“We hope you will find these checklist templates useful, and that they will help improve the safety of our intensive care units.”