Patient Safety in Ophthalmic Theatres: Audit of Practices at Teaching Hospitals in South West Nigeria

Patient safety in ophthalmic surgical theatres encompasses infection control, equipment sterilisation, surgical checklists, drug verification, and wrong-site surgery prevention, all of which have direct implications for visual outcomes and institutional liability. This study audits patient safety practices in ophthalmic theatres at teaching hospitals in South West Nigeria. A cross-sectional observational audit will be conducted at ophthalmic theatres in five teaching hospitals across Oyo, Lagos, Ogun, Osun, and Ondo States. Structured audit checklists adapted from the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist will be used to assess pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative safety practices. Direct observation will be supplemented by review of theatre registers, incident reports, and interviews with theatre nurses and surgeons. Audit scores will be tabulated per facility and benchmarked against international standards. Ophthalmic surgery carries particular patient safety risks because of the near-patient positioning, use of microsurgical instruments, and potential for catastrophic outcomes from wrong-site surgery or intraocular infection. Studies from Nigerian teaching hospitals report inconsistent safety checklist use and gaps in instrument sterilisation practices. This study provides South West-specific evidence to guide institutional quality improvement initiatives and National Postgraduate Medical College training standards for ophthalmology residents. Recommendations will include mandatory surgical safety checklist adoption, regular theatre staff safety training, incident reporting culture development, and periodic inter-hospital peer audits. Institutionalising safety culture in ophthalmic theatres is indispensable for protecting patients and sustaining trust in Nigerian surgical eye care. Keywords: patient safety, ophthalmic theatre, surgical safety checklist, teaching hospital, South West Nigeria