1325 Impact of the VFC in Fracture Clinic Referral Times

Abstract

Abstract Aim According to BOAST guidelines, patients should be seen in fracture clinic within 72 hours of presentation, following acute traumatic orthopaedic injury. Our audit aimed to assess the efficacy of a Virtual Fracture Clinic (VFC) in meeting the standard of care outlined by the guidelines. Method A retrospective review of notes was carried out for patients seen in fracture clinic on a random week before the VFC was introduced and a random week after VFC was introduced. Incomplete records and follow up referrals were excluded. Results A total of 51 new patients were seen on a random week in clinic prior to VFC introduction. The range of time before clinic review was 1 - 17 days, with a mean of 6 days. 83% of patients were seen later than 72 hours. After introduction of VFC, 44 patients were seen on a random week. Range was 1 - 11 days, with a mean 3.6 days. Only 5% were seen later than 72 hours. Conclusions Introduction of the VFC ensured BOAST guidelines for time to be seen in clinic were met for 95% of patients. Delays in seeing patients are generally cut to at least half. Suggestions for further improvement in time to be seen include increasing the capacity of virtual clinics and making a separate triage for trauma patients in A&E.