LAUSR

This study was an audit which aimed to assess and improve the follow-up of orthopaedic patients following elective arthroplasty on a new elective ward at a district general hospital. Theatre lists were accessed through the electronic patient records. Patients who had an elective joint replacement were identified through this. Patient appointments were then accessed to see if they had any follow up appointments in place. Should the patient have an appointment, the type of appointment was checked using the clinic codes to determine whether the correct appointment type was booked. The standard expected was that 100% of patients undergoing elective surgery should have the correct follow-up appointment in place. 100% of patients had an appointment booked with the orthopaedic team, however only 44% of these were booked in the correct outpatient clinic. The remaining patients were either booked into the fracture clinic or into the wrong subspecialist’s elective clinic. The intervention consisted of a new specific email address which enabled the surgeon to directly request a specific appointment with a dedicated elective orthopaedic secretary following each case. A re-audit yielded that there was an improvement with 76% of patients having the correct clinic booking. This was then planned to be presented to the executive team of the hospital to hire a ward clerk to facilitate further improvements. Implementation of the change has increased the current follow-up rates; however, the long-term goal should be the hiring of a ward clerk to ensure that appropriate follow-up is in place.