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Audit of a children's epilepsy clinic
R O Robinson1, M Edwards, C Madigan
1Newcomen Centre, Guy's Hospital, London, UK. richard.robinson@gstt.sthames.nhs.uk
Insights
Parents reported high satisfaction with a new pediatric epilepsy clinic, but identified unmet needs for additional resources. The audit highlighted areas for improvement and prompted service enhancements, including an adolescent support group.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Healthcare Quality Improvement
Background:
- Tertiary epilepsy clinics are crucial for managing complex pediatric cases.
- Evaluating patient and parent satisfaction is key to refining epilepsy care services.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess parent and child satisfaction with a newly established tertiary epilepsy clinic.
- To identify unmet needs and areas for service improvement.
Main Methods:
- A structured questionnaire was administered to 50 parents of children with epilepsy.
- Data collection included parent and child feedback on clinic services and resources.
Main Results:
- High levels of satisfaction were reported by parents and children.
- Significant unmet needs were identified regarding additional resources.
- Some medical concerns were not consistently communicated to healthcare providers.
Conclusions:
- The tertiary epilepsy clinic provides valuable clinical and neuropsychological support.
- The audit identified areas for improvement, leading to service enhancements like an adolescent discussion group.
- Methodological considerations regarding open-ended audit questions were raised.
Abstract:
A newly established tertiary epilepsy clinic at Guy's Hospital, London was evaluated using a structured questionnaire. Fifty parents of children with epilepsy completed this questionnaire, with some contribution from the children. While a high degree of satisfaction was obtained by the parents and where appropriate the children, specific questions about additional resources implied a large number of unmet needs. This raises methodological issues about the value of open-ended questions in audit questionnaires. In addition, concerns were expressed about many areas, some of which had direct medical implications that were not always raised with the doctors. It is concluded that the service has benefited from both clinical and neuropsychological support. The audit has prompted a number of improvements, including establishing a discussion group for adolescents.