Cancellation of elective surgical procedures in the Genito-Urinary section of National Hospital of Sri Lanka – can we do better?
Abstract
Background Cancellation of elective surgical procedures on the day of surgery is a parameter to assess the quality of patient care and the quality of the management system. There are many reasons for cancellation of elective surgical cases; and they differ from unit to unit and hospital to hospital. There are many causes such as medical, surgical, administrative, anaesthetic and patient factors.
Materials and Method We prospectively collected data over a four month period from May to August 2012 in the Genito-Urinary section of National Hospital of Sri Lanka to determine the prevalence and causes for cancellation of elective surgical procedures.
Results 1724 patients were scheduled for elective surgical procedures during the study period; 106 (6.0%) of these were cancelled on the day of surgery. 16.9% (18/106) of patients defaulted admission. Majority of the cancellations were within the 61 – 70 year age group (31.1%) The cancellations of major, intermediate and minor surgeries were 58.5%, 18.9%, 22.6% respectively.
Conclusion and Recommendations Ideally there should be no cancellations. Cancellations can be minimized if the patients with medical problems were detected early and referred for an anaesthetic assessment soon after they are scheduled for surgery. Cancellation due to lack of theatre time should be minimised with proper planning. It is worth looking at why nearly 17% of patients defaulted. There may have been problems with communication. Minimising cancellations will improve operating room efficiency and reduce wastage of time and money.
© 2013 Gayathri Charika Hewawasam, Ayesha Maduwanthi, published by College of Anaesthesiologists of Sri Lanka
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