Thanks for the replies, unfortunately I can't fing a web link to the article, which basically said that the lessons from the Bristol scandal havn't been learnt, and teamwork and communication in surgical teams is still sadly lacking- leading, in some cases to disaster- an example quoted was that of a surgeon amputating the wrong leg, and a urologist removing th wrong kidney (the patient died.)
The article hinted that the team were afraid to question the almighty surgeon, which I found a little incredible.
I do remember a simillar scenario years ago, involving an airline captain (a trident I think), selecting an incorrect flap setting, resulting in a crash- at the time, it was thought that the young inexperienced pilot knew that the setting was incorrect, but was too frightened to point out the error to the captain.
Do surgeons routinely hold meetings with their wider team to discuss quality issues?