National Health Commission releases action plan to improve surgical safety

The National Health Commission on Monday released an action plan aimed at improving surgical safety and quality, as well as reducing patients' waiting time for surgeries.

According to the document published on its official website, the commission said that incidence rates of adverse events during surgeries, such as surgical complications and perioperative death (death occurring within 30 days after surgery), should decrease by the end of 2025.

Information technologies should be used to monitor and adjust use of surgery rooms so as to cut down waiting time of patients, it added.

The action plan is rolled out as the variety and the number of surgeries nationwide have been increasing, resulting in rising adverse events in some medical institutions, said the commission.