Assessment of the quality of care in acute bowel obstruction patients at a tertiary care hospital with the NCEPOD guidelines

Abstract

Abstract Background Acute bowel obstruction (ABO) is a common cause of admission under the emergency general surgery services offered across the UK. The Aim of this quality improvement project (QIP) was to assess the quality of care for patients with ABO with the national and NCEPOD guidelines in a tertiary care hospital. Method Data was collected for two months in October and November 2022 from an electronic database in the trust and patient notes maintained throughout the admission. Results 35 patients were included in the QIP (19 males and 16 females). Consultant review is recommended in < 14 hours after admission and national statistics show a delay in 15.9% of cases, in our hospital, it was 73.33% (22/30). Pain assessment on admission, the national average is 57% but, in this hospital, it was 42.86% (15/35). Similarly, guidelines recommend assessment of MUST score, hydration status and Rockwood score at admission, which was documented in 0/35, 1/35 and 15/35 cases in our hospital. QIP was presented in the local clinical governance meeting followed by a teaching session to improve the patient care in ABO. Conclusion This QIP showed a lack of documentation in the pain score, hydration status, Rockwood score, MUST score and a delay in the consultant review for patients with ABO when compared with the guidelines of NCEPOD and national statistics. A repeat cycle of this QIP will be conducted in 6 months' time to analyse the effectiveness of the intervention on patient care outcomes.