Evaluating quality standards' adherence in surgical care: a case study from Pakistan

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Quality
• Surgical Safety
• Patient Outcomes

Background:

• Assessing surgical quality is crucial for patient safety and effective healthcare delivery.
• Adherence to established surgical quality standards, such as the WHO Safe Surgery Checklist, is a key indicator of care quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the level of adherence to surgical quality standards in a tertiary care hospital.
• To identify specific areas within surgical care that require improvement.
• To explore the discrepancy between perceived and actual adherence to quality standards.

Main Methods:

• A multi-method case study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Lahore, Pakistan.
• Observed and self-reported adherence to the WHO Safe Surgery Checklist was assessed.
• Patient satisfaction was evaluated through exit interviews, and key informants were interviewed for in-depth insights.

Main Results:

• While overall surgical department activities were satisfactory and patient satisfaction was high, infection control measures were found to be poor, leading to increased re-operation and re-admission rates.
• Adherence to surgical quality standards was inadequate across pre-operative, operative, and post-operative phases.
• A significant discrepancy was observed between the reported adherence by healthcare providers and their actual practices.

Conclusions:

• Patient satisfaction alone is not a reliable measure of surgical care quality.
• There is a notable gap between perceived and actual adherence to surgical quality standards in the studied hospital.
• Targeted interventions are needed to improve infection control and overall adherence to surgical quality standards.