One year audit of surgical admissions at Gondar university medical college

Abstract

Background: The new University of Gondar enrolled surgeons for post graduate training in November 2003. A new surgical curriculum was designed in partnership with the Leicester Gondar Link. Admissions to the Department of Surgery over twelve months were subject to audit. The objectives of the audit study were to introduce a new concept, to review the surgical experience of the Department, to support organizational change, to integrate audit into post graduate training, and to measure and improve the quality of the service.

Method: Social, medical and administrative data on inpatients was recorded on a discharge summary sheet. The data was coded using a six letter descriptive code and transferred to a computer for presentation on a spread sheet.

Results: The results list the social and the demographic distribution of patients; the surgical details including diagnosis, operation and outcome; and administrative data of patient numbers and duration of stay.

Conclusion: The discussion is related the objectives of the study. The concept of audit was successfully introduced. Although data was incomplete, trends were apparent. The surgical experience of the Department was documented. The results supported the argument for organizational change including a move to sub-specialization. Audit has become an integral part of the postgraduate curriculum underwriting the monthly morbidity and mortality meetings and providing data for clinical research. The data has provided a baseline mortality rate and exposed quality issues for example, demographic restrictions on access to surgery, and the high mortality rate among patients with head injury.