Audit on elective surgery waiting list in the department of ENT- Head and Neck Surgery in a tertiary care center

Introduction: Patients needing surgical treatment for benign conditions are listed on first come first served basis in the department of ENT- Head and Neck Surgery (ENT-HNS), Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal. The objective of this audit was to determine the average waiting period for elective surgery in various subspecialty units of the department and the patient turn up rate on the scheduled date. Methods: This was a retrospective audit based on the elective surgical waiting list register of year 2073 B.S. of four subspecialties in the department; namely unit I-Otology, Unit II- Head & Neck surgery, Unit III - Pediatric ENT and Unit IV- Rhinology Results: The overall average waiting period for elective surgery was 10.6 weeks. For GA cases it was 10.4 weeks for unit I and II, 13.2 and 8.3 weeks for unit III and IV respectively. For LA cases, waiting period in unit I and IV was 16.9 and 2.5 weeks respectively. The overall turn up rate on the scheduled contact date was 40.8% (46% for GA cases and 31% for LA cases). For unit I, it was 50% for GA cases and 26.6% for LA cases. For unit II and unit III GA cases, turn up rate was 38.4% and 43.8% respectively. In unit IV, it was 53.3% for GA cases and 66% for LA cases. Conclusion: The patient turn up rate on contact date in general decreased with longer waiting period for elective surgery.