Conclusions Long duration and lack of structure of the verbal postoperative handover decreased how much the receiver remembered. The variation in remembered information shows that there is room for improvement (Paper I). Implementing the communication tool SBAR in an anaesthetic clinic indicated improvement in personnel’s perception of communication between professionals as well as their perception of the safety climate. It decreased the proportion of incident reports related to communication errors (Paper II) and revealed improvement in memorized information among receivers following postoperative handover. Compared to the comparison group over time, no significant difference in the information recalled was found (Paper III). There were differences and similarities between the nurse anaesthetists’, anaesthesiologists’ and PACU nurses’ descriptions of and reflections on the postoperative handover, which may affect patient care (Paper IV). Further studies are needed to achieve a shared understanding across professional groups and consensus concerning the information needed – between the operating theatre team and the post-anaesthesia care unit team as well as within the operating theatre team – as well as to ensure safe postoperative care (Paper I-IV)