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Pre-admission clinics in ENT: A national audit of UK practice and opinion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2007

Mohammed El Naggar ,
Andrée Welsh ,
Andrew J. Dickenson ,
Liam M. Flood  and
John G. Gibb
Mohammed El Naggar
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, North Riding Infirmary Research Foundation, Middlesbrough, UK.
Andrée Welsh
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, North Riding Infirmary Research Foundation, Middlesbrough, UK.
Andrew J. Dickenson
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, North Riding Infirmary Research Foundation, Middlesbrough, UK.
Liam M. Flood*
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, North Riding Infirmary Research Foundation, Middlesbrough, UK.
John G. Gibb
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, North Riding Infirmary Research Foundation, Middlesbrough, UK.
*
Address for correspondence: Mr Liam Flood, F.R.C.S., Department of Otolaryngology, North Riding Infirmary Research Foundation, Newport Road, Middlesbrough, Cleveland TS1 5JE. Fax: 01642 231154
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Abstract

A one-year prospective audit (1989) of patient non-attendance for elective surgery in our department showed that of those summoned, five per cent defaulted on the day of admission without contacting the hospital (Hampal and Flood, 1992). Contributing factors such as lengthy waiting lists and inefficient communication with the patients were amenable to correction by the hospital. However, the current admission policy made inevitable a significant waste of theatre time.

The pre-admission clinic (PAC), an outpatient attendance shortly before planned surgery, was recommended in ENT practice by Robin (1991) and introduced into our department that year. Failure to attend the PAC allowed adequate time' for replacement on the theatre list and was recommended as a solution to the problem of unfilled theatre sessions (Dingle et al., 1993).

A subsequent four-year experience of conducting PACs has confirmed several expected advantages. However, some of the hopes for development expressed in our earlier work (Dingle et al., 1993) have failed to materialize. This study aims to review retrospectively our experience and compare it with the admission practice and desires of ENT departments in the United Kingdom as revealed by a postal survey. The findings are of relevance to all surgical specialties and to anaesthetic departments wishing, to adopt this system of admission.

Keywords

Clinicpre-admissionSurgeryotorhinolaryngological
Type
Audit Article
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 111 , Issue 4 , April 1997 , pp. 357 - 360
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 1997

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