MILLIONS of people could have their lives saved or their risk of disability cut by a new "surgical checklist" for operations, according to a major new study.

The checklist, developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), dramatically cuts the chance of complications following surgery by 36% and death by 47%.

The results of the worldwide research are so impressive that the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has told all NHS and private hospitals in England and Wales they must use the list.

The checklist is divided into three sections - "sign in" for before patients are anaesthetised, "time out" for the period before the skin is cut and "sign out" for the moment before the patient leaves the operating theatre.

The study involved hospitals in eight countries: Ifakara (Tanzania), Manila (Philippines), New Delhi (India), Amman (Jordan), Seattle (US), Toronto (Canada), Auckland (New Zealand) and London.

Researchers collected data for 3733 patients who were operated on before the checklist was introduced and compared this with data for 3955 patients operated on after the checklist was brought in. The experts looked at the rate of complications and death in hospital for the patients in the first 30 days after surgery.

The results showed that 11% of patients suffered complications before the checklist was introduced but this fell to 7% after introduction of the checklist - a fall of more than a third (36%).

The death rate was 1.5% before the list was introduced and 0.8% afterwards - a drop of 47%.

The study found that patients fared better after the checklist regardless of whether the country was high or low income.

Dr Atul Gawande, associate professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and lead for the WHO safe surgery project, described the results as "startling".

"With the annual global volume of surgery now exceeding 234 million, the use of the WHO checklist could reduce deaths and disabilities by millions," he said.

During the "sign in" phase of the checklist, members of the medical team gather to go through six different points.

During the second "time out" phase of the checklist, every member of the team confirms the patient's identity, surgical site and procedure, and reviews what could go wrong during surgery.

The "sign out" phase involves staff checking that all the instruments and items used during surgery are accounted for, addressing any issues that arose with equipment and voicing aloud key concerns involving the patient's recovery and care.