Adequacy of general practitioners' premises for minor surgery

OBJECTIVE--Assessment of facilities for minor surgery in general practitioners' premises. DESIGN--Independent inspection of premises and equipment. SETTING--Large urban district. SUBJECTS--Premises of all general practitioners who applied to be reimbursed for minor surgery. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE--Fullfilment of 14 pre-selected criteria. RESULTS--69 of 111 premises met all criteria and were approved; 23 failed on only one criterion. The commonest reasons for failure were inadequate record keeping and lack of resuscitation equipment. Twelve practices had out of date adrenaline. CONCLUSIONS--Most premises are suitable for minor surgery, some with attention needed to record keeping. Practices must pay careful attention to the expiry date of adrenaline.