PHS FOI 2026-002357
- Date of request
- 17 February 2026
- Date of response
- 26 February 2026
- FOI request ID
- PHS FOI 2026-002357
- Conditions and diseases
Request
“Please provide the following information:
- A list of all surgical skin markers currently used in your organisation for:
- Pre-operative site marking in theatres.
- Marking the skin for bedside or ward-based procedures (e.g., central venous access, chest drains, skin demarcation, or similar).
- For each marker, please include:
- Brand and product name.
- Ink colour(s).
- Typical clinical area(s) where it is used.
- Copies of any product specifications, catalogues, or procurement documents held by the organisation that describe available colours and intended use.
- Copies of any current Organisational policies, protocols, guidelines, or training materials that:
- Refer to the choice of surgical skin marker colour.
- Refer to visibility of markings in different clinical contexts or patient groups.
- Address this issue within equality, diversity and inclusion, patient safety, or clinical governance documents.
- Information on whether any additional or alternative marker colours (beyond standard ones) are available within the organisation (e.g., for use in clinical areas or patient groups where standard markings may be less visible).
- Anonymised, aggregated incident reports, risk assessments, or patient safety reports (1 January 2019 to present) where visibility of skin markings was identified as a contributory factor. (No patient-identifiable information is requested.)”