Patient safety
charitable and voluntary. She’s packing 20 copies of the AfPP Standards
and Recommendations for Safe Perioperative Practice to take with her; an essential tool to support the professionals she’ll be working with. “These Standards are a goldmine,” she says.
“They offer clear, practical guidance that can be adapted to local environments to improve patient outcomes.” Though the rewards of the work are immense, Lisa Tierney is open about the challenges, saying: “I’ve worked in areas where there’s no running water, lecture rooms with rats scurrying across the floor, and had vital items confiscated at airports. We often work long hours, starting early in the morning and working through to late in the evening, but the impact we have, on patients and theatre teams, makes it all worth it.”
The power of teamwork in surgery The SAFE OR Programme focuses on strengthening the surgical team as a unit.
Through small group activities, simulations, and role-plays, participants learn vital skills in communication, leadership, problem-solving, and decision-making. The course promotes the effective use of the World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist and integrates quality improvement strategies to help teams make lasting changes. The programme also includes a Training the
Trainer component to build local capacity and ensure sustainability, a feature Lisa Tierney sees as crucial: “We’re not there to take over. We’re there to support teams to improve their own systems and then pass that knowledge on. That’s how lasting change happens.”
Looking ahead Though Lisa Tierney is no longer working in a hospital setting, her influence continues through consultancy work, AfPP accreditations, CQC inspections, and policy development. Her ongoing commitment to perioperative safety, both in the UK and abroad, is a reflection of her lifelong mission: to create safer environments for patients and healthcare professionals alike. Reflecting on the value of international work
like SAFE OR, Lisa Tierney says, “There’s nothing quite like it. To know you’ve helped someone deliver safer surgery, to know that a patient’s life may be improved, or even saved, because of the training we provide, is incredibly humbling. It reminds you why you started in this profession in the first place.”
Her upcoming mission to Sri Lanka exemplifies the spirit of collaboration and compassion that lies at the heart of the Association for Perioperative Practice. Through her work, she continues to build bridges across borders, promoting excellence in perioperative care around the world.
CSJ July 2025 I
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