A survey of morbidity and mortality review meetings in the general surgical units of the West of Scotland

Background and aims There is little consensus as to the conduct of surgical morbidity and mortality review meetings. The aim of this survey was to determine how surgical morbidity and mortality meetings in the surgical units in the West of Scotland are carried out and to explore possible areas for improvement. Methods and results Forty six surgical trainees distributed between the 15 general surgery units of the West of Scotland were asked to provide details of their surgical morbidity and mortality meetings for the training year 2012–2013. Twenty-five of 46 (54%) specialty trainees responded with all units being represented. All had designated time for surgical morbidity and mortality review. Meeting frequency varied as follows: weekly (3 units), fortnightly (1 unit), monthly (10 units), three monthly (1 unit). Fewer than half the units (6) included Foundation Trainees, and only one meeting was attended by nursing staff. Five units had clear criteria for morbidity, but only three included morbidity collected from outpatient follow-up. A standardised proforma was used to present the cases in only 2 units. Conclusions All 15 surgical units in the West of Scotland have a regular surgical morbidity and mortality meeting but significant variations were observed as to frequency and participating personnel. A more robust system for reporting morbidities should be considered.