Outpatient clinic holds 162 consultations in one day to reduce appointment backlog
Our teams have worked hard to find new ways to reduce waiting times caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Held on Saturday 15 May, a special surgical outpatient clinic saw 162 outpatients for a consultation at Queen’s Hospital.
The patients had various symptoms including haemorrhoids, bleeding from the bottom, and pilonidal sinuses.
Five consultants and five registrars worked on the day and were able to see everyone. This has helped reduce the backlog, with only two patients not attending.
Haemorrhoid patients received injections and banding with follow-up appointments arranged. Other patients were either discharged back to their GP or put onto waiting lists for an operation.
Consultant surgeon Veeranna Shatkar and speciality manager for general surgery, vascular and breast, Patricia Murphy, led the clinic.
Patricia said: “The clinic was very successful and we received positive feedback from our outpatients who were all very pleased to have appointments.
“One of our patients was a 103-year-old woman. Her son, who came to the appointment with her, told me he was impressed with how efficiently we operated the day from the moment they entered our hospital to his mother’s appointment.
“This project wouldn’t have been such a success without the hard work of the staff involved, including the consultant surgeons, the nursing team, the admin team, and our wonderful volunteers.”
Off the back of this successful clinic, we have planned two more for June.
Jacqui Czarnocki, Outpatient Transformation Programme Lead, said: “This initiative is a good example of us focusing on our patients and ensuring we used our capacity to see patients effectively.
“Reducing backlogs of outpatient appointments is a vital part of our recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and projects such as this clinic play a big role.”
Saturday’s clinic is one of many initiatives to reduce appointment backlogs at our Trust. Read the efforts of Trust staff in our cardio-respiratory physiology unit who have reduced the number of outstanding referrals to below pre-pandemic levels.