Article Sidebar
Article Details
Issue
Section
Articles
By submitting manuscripts to SAFP, authors of original articles are assigning copyright to the SA Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care. Copyright of review articles are assigned to the Publisher, Medpharm Publications (Pty) Ltd, unless otherwise specified. Authors may use their own work after publication without written permission, provided they acknowledge the original source. Individuals and academic institutions may freely copy and distribute articles published in SAFP for educational and research purposes without obtaining permission.
Main Article Content
Quality Improvement: Appropriate episiotomies in a district hospital
Abstract
Work satisfaction, enthusiasm and better patient care at times come from the simplest things. Quite a number of patients were coming with episiotomy dehiscence (gaping episiotomy) to the Taung Hospital. Most of them were primigravidae, on whom a routine episiotomy (according to the Hospital policy) had been performed.
A literature review showed that there routine episiotomy was not necessary, and that reducing the number of episiotomies had not increased the number of complications for the mothers or babies.
A multidisciplinary team did a quality improvement project to reduce the number of episiotomies. The results of the project were positive: the episiotomy rate decreased from 66,2% to 25,3% and the episiotomy dehiscence rate dropped from 2.28% to 0.7%. This had a positive impact also on patient satisfaction and staff morale. The experience is described as a quality improvement cycle and discussed in light of some principles of quality improvement in a rural hospital.
SA Fam Pract 2033;45(6):17-19
Keywords: quality, team, satisfaction, care, improvement
A literature review showed that there routine episiotomy was not necessary, and that reducing the number of episiotomies had not increased the number of complications for the mothers or babies.
A multidisciplinary team did a quality improvement project to reduce the number of episiotomies. The results of the project were positive: the episiotomy rate decreased from 66,2% to 25,3% and the episiotomy dehiscence rate dropped from 2.28% to 0.7%. This had a positive impact also on patient satisfaction and staff morale. The experience is described as a quality improvement cycle and discussed in light of some principles of quality improvement in a rural hospital.
SA Fam Pract 2033;45(6):17-19
Keywords: quality, team, satisfaction, care, improvement
