The P.E.I. Medical Society hopes to implement a post-surgery checklist to go along with a pre-surgery one, in an effort to improve patient safety.

The increased focus on safety comes after two women in Ontario mistakenly had healthy breasts removed.

Before a patient goes under the knife on P.E.I. the surgical team is required to double-check a few things.

"They get the site marked if it's the right leg, left leg," Dr. Paul Schaefer, a general surgeon at Prince County Hospital in Summerside and president of the P.E.I. Medical Society, told CBC News Thursday.

"When they go into the OR, before any cutting is done, the nurse reads off the chart, identifies the patient's wrist bracelet saying, for instance, this is Mrs. Jones, 72-year-old lady who is here for gallbladder surgery."

Post surgery checks

These are national guidelines, but as it stands there isn't an official policy to follow after the operation is done.

"There's certainly the checks involved with the recovery of the patient, things they watch for depending on the type of surgery," said Arlene Gallant-Bernard, executive director of the Prince County Hospital.

"But there's no specific checklist that's developed."

Starting next month there will be one in Ontario.

Dr. Michael Baker, who is in charge of patient safety in that province, said a 32-point checklist will be mandatory. It includes things like making sure tools aren't left inside a patient's body.

"The kind of populist idea that you didn't leave anything behind, that's on the checklist," said Baker.

"In technical language, is the sponge count complete and correct? Is the instrument count complete and correct."

The P.E.I. Medical Society is eager to adopt the same guidelines. Gallant-Bernard said her staff also wants to adopt the practice.

Before that happens, officials from the island's two main hospitals will have to meet with the province.