EP.FRI.1036 Provision of 7 Day Radiology Service: Are we compliant against standards

Abstract

Abstract Aim The audit aimed to retrospectively look into reporting times for investigations for acute surgical inpatients and determine if we were able to meet standards as set in NHS 7 day service provision standards which aims to provide 7day radiological service for hospital inpatients from commission to reporting. Method A prospective audit is undertaken to collect waiting times for investigations for all acute admissions requiring radiological investigations over one month. Investigations were categorized into ‘critical’, ‘urgent’ and ‘non-urgent’ according to guidelines set by Royal College of Surgeons. The results were tabulated in Excel and analyzed to determine level of compliance. Results Collected data shows that off the total 119 investigations performed, 34% were USG, 63% were CT scans and 2.5% were MRI. Standards were met for a total of 67% of the investigations. Only 20% of critical, 67% of urgent and 76% of non-urgent scans were done within the standard time while by modality, CT scans had the highest rate of compliance. 60% of investigations requested over weekends met standards with highest compliance for USG and for non-urgent scans. Average reporting time was approximately 50 minutes. Conclusion The audit outcome highlighted that 1 out of 3 investigations did not meet standards. Within its limitations of no numerical parameters to guide urgency, the audit was able give an idea of the radiology service offered by the hospital and highlighted clear areas for improvements which can be suggested to improve compliance such as documenting ‘operative catergory’ of requested investigations on request forms.