The impact of a direct adult tonsillectomy pathway on patient waiting times
Dhuhaibawi, Ali; Abed, Osama; Mamdouh, Sherif; Naudé, Anél
Patients (pts) suffering with recurrent tonsillitis are referred to ENT departments by their General Practitioner (GP) to assess their candidacy for tonsillectomy. These referral letters are generally marked
as routine.
Patients who meet the criteria for tonsillectomy face two obstacles: 1) Long Outpatient Department (OPD) Waiting Lists
2) Long Inpatient Waiting Lists for the Operation.
In April 2021 the ENT department at OLOL initiated a quality improvement project: The Direct Adult Tonsillectomy Pathway (DATP).
The project included: 1) a Patient Questionnaire, (QN)
2) a Virtual OPD Appointment,
3) Review of Tonsillectomy Patient Information at home by the patient with a chance to opt in or out of the surgery
4) Directly Booking for a Tonsillectomy once the above is complete.
This review compared two patient groups: 1) Traditional Pathway Group prior to April 2021 (TPG).
2) DATP group prospectively triaged to the pathway between 1 April 2022 and 31 December 2023 (DATP).
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