Improving the surgical hot clinic

Area of Science:

• Surgical Care
• Healthcare Management
• Quality Improvement

Background:

• Ambulatory care is an underdeveloped concept in emergency surgery, despite increasing pressures on time and finances.
• Effective risk management and communication with primary care providers are crucial for outpatient acute abdominal pain management.
• Many institutions need to develop ambulatory services to manage increasing healthcare demands.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify current ambulatory care provision for surgical patients in a hospital's hot clinic.
• To consult with the surgical department to pinpoint issues with patient throughput.
• To update guidelines and improve the ambulatory hot clinic service.

Main Methods:

• A quality improvement project was conducted at Croydon University Hospital's hot clinic.
• Current service provision was assessed, and surgical department consultations identified problems.
• Guidelines were updated, validated by the general surgery department, and implemented.

Main Results:

• Senior house officer-led assessments decreased from 26% to 9% (64% reduction), indicating increased registrar/consultant involvement.
• Effective discharge liaison to General Practitioners (GPs) increased from 18% to 68% (250% rise).
• The ambulatory hot clinic operated closer to full capacity post-intervention.

Conclusions:

• Updated guidelines resulted in a safer and more effective ambulatory hot clinic.
• The improvements enhanced patient care for the local population.
• The project demonstrated successful development of ambulatory care in emergency surgery.