In September, Lisa Tierney, Non-elected Trustee and Consultant for the Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP), will travel to Jaffna, Sri Lanka as part of the internationally recognised SAFE OR (Safe Operating Room) Programme.
A seasoned perioperative practitioner with over four decades of experience, Lisa has dedicated much of her professional life to improving patient care and safety, both in the UK and internationally. This upcoming trip will mark another milestone in her long-standing commitment to sharing knowledge, promoting standards, and supporting surgical teams in resource-limited countries.
Lisa has been a key figure in the SAFE OR Programme for many years and now serves as Chair of the initiative. The programme, which brings together organisations including the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the Association of Anaesthetists, AfPP, Lifebox Foundation, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists, is a multidisciplinary training course designed to enhance surgical safety through effective teamwork and communication.
“SAFE OR is about more than education,” Lisa explains. “It’s about empowering professionals to work better as a team, to understand each other’s roles, and ultimately to give patients the best possible care, even in the most challenging environments.”
A lifelong career dedicated to patient safety
Lisa began her career in theatres in 1980, primarily working as a scrub practitioner. Over the years, she progressed into senior leadership roles, including Theatre Matron at The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals Trust, and later Theatre Matron and Manager at Liverpool Heart & Chest Hospital. After 38 years in the NHS, she transitioned into the independent sector, working for over five years as Head of Nursing at The Private Clinic of Harley Street.
Her passion for patient safety and quality improvement has remained at the heart of everything she does. She currently provides consultancy services in regulatory compliance and healthcare governance, supporting organisations to meet Care Quality Commission (CQC) standards. Since 2015, she has also worked as a Specialist Advisor for the CQC, participating in inspections across both the NHS and the independent sector.
Lisa’s career also includes 18 years of service in the Army Reserves, where she achieved the rank of Major and completed three operational tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her military experience has strengthened her ability to lead under pressure and adapt to unpredictable situations; skills that serve her well in the varied and sometimes difficult conditions faced during SAFE OR missions.
A global mission to share best practice
Lisa has helped deliver SAFE OR training in Ethiopia, Uganda, India, Bangladesh, and the UK. In Sri Lanka, she will be part of a multidisciplinary faculty of eight delivering the course to an expected 30 to 40 healthcare professionals. As always, the work is entirely charitable and voluntary.
She’s packing 20 copies of the AfPP Standards and Recommendations for Safe Perioperative Practice to take with her; an essential tool to support the professionals she’ll be working with.
“These Standards are a goldmine ,” she says. “They offer clear, practical guidance that can be adapted to local environments to improve patient outcomes.”
Though the rewards of the work are immense, Lisa is open about the challenges., saying: “I’ve worked in areas where there’s no running water, lecture rooms with rats scurrying across the floor, and had vital items confiscated at airports. We often work long hours, starting early in the morning and working through to late in the evening, but the impact we have, on patients and, theatre teams, makes it all worth it.”
The power of teamwork in surgery
The SAFE OR Programme focuses on strengthening the surgical team as a unit. Through small group activities, simulations, and role-plays, participants learn vital skills in communication, leadership, problem-solving, and decision-making. The course promotes the effective use of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist and integrates quality improvement strategies to help teams make lasting changes.
The programme also includes a Training the Trainer component to build local capacity and ensure sustainability, a feature Lisa sees as crucial: “We’re not there to take over. We’re there to support teams to improve their own systems and then pass that knowledge on. That’s how lasting change happens.”
Looking ahead
Though Lisa is no longer working in a hospital setting, her influence continues through consultancy work, AfPP accreditations, CQC inspections, and policy development. Her ongoing commitment to perioperative safety, both in the UK and abroad, is a reflection of her lifelong mission: to create safer environments for patients and healthcare professionals alike.
Reflecting on the value of international work like SAFE OR, Lisa says, “There’s nothing quite like it. To know you’ve helped someone deliver safer surgery, to know that a patient’s life may be improved, or even saved, because of the training we provide, is incredibly humbling. It reminds you why you started in this profession in the first place.”
Lisa’s upcoming mission to Sri Lanka exemplifies the spirit of collaboration and compassion that lies at the heart of the Association for Perioperative Practice. Through her work, she continues to build bridges across borders, promoting excellence in perioperative care around the world.
Pictures show Lisa delivering the SAFE OR Programme overseas.
