The ‘theatre’ of surgery is one that fascinates us all. It’s seen as a place of drama, tension and crisis. However, taking a deeper dive into this complex world, this episode features Simon Watts – ENT Consultant and facial plastic surgeon – who talks in detail about how the medical profession has, over the last ten years, made some small but highly significant changes to the way they communicate, collaborate and challenge each other.

 Simon details the important factors for a modern theatre – surprisingly simple ones, such as chatter, questioning and feedback. To expedite these strengths, teams across the world have been using the World Health Organisation ‘Checklist’ (the story of which can be found in Atul Gawande’s book of the same name). There are some powerful learnings in this podcast and a fascinating delve into the process of surgery.

We also asked Simon about the use of music during surgery – his answer was an inspiring, lovely perspective on how we can all be better at what we do.