Progressing safer surgery.

Surgical care has been an essential component of health care worldwide for over a century. As the incidence of traumatic injuries, cancers and cardiovascular disease continues to rise, the impact of surgical intervention on public health systems is growing. Approximately 234 million interventions are now performed every year, representing one intervention for every 25 people on earth. In the United Kingdom this equates to a ratio of one operation for every eight people (WHO 2008a).