Andrew Healey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Background

Andrew joined the clinical safety research group in 2003 as a research psychologist. His first job involved researching team performance in surgery to improve patient safety. This led to the development of the Observational Assessment of Teamwork in Surgery (OTAS), based on task analysis and behavioural indicators, assessed by a surgeon and psychologist, respectively. Andrew also developed an interview for measuring team performance in the operating theatre and an observational tool to assess the level of distraction and interruption interfering with the effective flow of the surgical operation. I was attracted to systems ergonomics, for its potential to address the various dimensions involved in the sociotechnical system. Andrew translated CPSSQ previous work on surgical teams, slanting it toward ergonomics and developed proposals for the EPSRC to fund research on the system of communication for surgery. This research addressed the system in terms of social and technical interaction between professional groups and the unique human-machine interaction that minimally invasive and robotic surgery depends on.

In the five years Andrew spent in CSRU he built a coherent line of research, culminating in the first special issue journal on Enhancing Surgical Systems and a new model for developing the surgical system. Andrew left the CSRU in 2008 for permanent employment at the Atomic Weapon’s Establishment, where he works as a Human Factors Analyst.

Andrew has maintained contact with the CSRU in order to support the further dissemination of the EPSRC work.