Improving the provision of driving advice on discharge after abdominal surgery

Ensuring the safety of patients is a vital duty of a doctor. It is their responsibility to advise patients about activity limitations on discharge from hospital. This study aims to assess the current provision of driving advice for patients after abdominal surgery and institute improvements to this provision of information in North Bristol NHS Trust. A preliminary questionnaire ascertained current doctor's knowledge regarding limitations of driving postoperatively and whether information was communicated to patients. Baseline retrospective data were collected from electronic discharge summaries to determine documentation of advice provision. Educational interventions were introduced, followed by data collection after each intervention. Initial questionnaires demonstrated poor knowledge amongst doctors and a lack of provision of driving advice postoperatively. After multiple educational interventions, the provision of driving advice on electronic discharge summaries increased from 0% (0) at baseline to 75% (9). Initially, the provision of driving advice postoperatively was poorly documented for inpatients undergoing abdominal surgery; following multiple educational interventions, the provision of written advice improved. Future plans include the introduction of prewritten sentences onto the electronic discharge summaries to facilitate ease of information provision and a reaudit in 12 months.