Dr Jannicke Mellin-Olsen passed away suddenly on 7 February 2025 at her home outside Oslo. She is survived by her partner Jorma and extended family. With the death of Jannicke, the world has lost a giant within anaesthesiology. We extend our deepest condolences to her loved ones on this tragic loss.
Dr Mellin-Olsen received her medical degree from the University of Trondheim, Norway in 1982. This was followed by an internship at Hamar hospital and residency training at Trondheim University Hospital before completion of military service as the first female doctor in Norway to do so. This lead to her serving with UNIFIL in Lebanon during 1986-87 as Senior Medical Officer (major) and a lifelong commitment to the values of the United Nations with her focus on inclusion, integrity and equality. Dr Mellin-Olsen’s medical career in Norway was interspersed with stints working for the ICRC and in the then relatively new field of air ambulance and remote medical services, including as advisor to the Egyptian Government.
While fulfilling her job as a consultant anaesthesiologist in the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine at Baerum Hospital, Dr Mellin-Olsen carried out a large number of activities and roles on a voluntary basis, demonstrating her selfless work in the service of humanity.
Dr Mellin-Olsen was recognized worldwide for her immense commitment to her patients and to the safety of anaesthesiology everywhere, and was the recipient of honorary membership from medical societies across Europe. With her more than 40 years of leadership at a local, national, regional and global level, she was instrumental in many of the leading innovations within anaesthesia safety and healthcare quality. Some of her key achievements include:
- Being the senior author of the seminal 2010 Helsinki Declaration on Patient Safety in Anaesthesiology which has been endorsed by anaesthesia and critical/intensive care organisations worldwide;
- Implementing simple yet highly effective bedside changes to improve patient safety through improved communication between healthcare professionals and those receiving care, such as ‘the orange chair’ project which encourages Norwegian healthcare professionals to sit down by their patients’ beds to encourage better two-way communication;
- Being one of the originators of The National Commission of Inquiry into Health & Care Services (UKOM) in Norway which reviews patient safety incidents nationally;
- Being the first non-American member of the Board of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation, aiming to eliminate preventable patient death and harm.
A deep emphasis on building new generations’ excitement for and interest in safe anaesthesia care, have been a red thread through Dr Mellin-Olsen’s leadership positions across organisations such as the Norwegian Society of Anaesthesiology, the European Board of Anaesthesiology, the European Patient Safety Foundation, the European Society of Anaesthesiology & Intensive Care and the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists. Dr Mellin-Olsen’s inspirational career was celebrated at the 18th World Congress of Anaesthesiologists in Singapore in March 2024 where she was one of two Harold Griffith lecturers, delivering the only named plenary lecture of the World Congress to a standing ovation by the 1,700+ strong audience. Gracious as always, she generously agreed for the lecture to be made publicly available.
Dr Mellin-Olsen was a much loved mentor and advisor and was recognised for the wide-reaching impact she had on patient safety in Norwegian healthcare and beyond. She was awarded the highest civilian honour in Norway (Knight 1st Class of The Royal Order of St. Olav) and received the Distinguished Service Award from the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists where she served as President during 2018-2020.
