Dr Josep Maria Badia, professor of Surgery in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and director of Surgery at Hospital General de Granollers, is one of the main proponents and first president of the new Surgical Infection Observatory.

In the words of Dr Badia, “postoperative infection is the most common surgical complication in Europe. As a result, we have created the Observatory in hopes of turning it into a useful tool for professionals from all surgical specialties and to enhance knowledge of postoperative infection”.

The Spanish Association of Surgeons, in cooperation with the Health and Technology Foundation, which supports the project both logistically and financially, has created the Surgical Infection Observatory to provide surgical practitioners a forum for discussion and participation that facilitates the exchange of knowledge and experiences and, in doing so, heightens the safety of surgical patients.