Abstract
Purpose: An audit was undertaken to evaluate the patients’ experience of foot surgery at the great Western Hospital in 2004 following the appointment of a podiatric surgeon to the orthopaedic department.
Method: The first 100 patients that were operated on by the podiatric surgeon (Group 1) were matched by OPCS code to a randomly selected patient cohort that had been operated on by orthopaedic surgeons (Group 2). All patients were at a minimum of 6 months post-surgery (range 6–10 months Gp. 1, 11–20 months Gp. 2). The audit department sent out an anonymous questionnaire relating to the patients’ experience both before and after their surgery as well as current levels of satisfaction with the outcome of their surgery.
Results: The response rate was 64% in Gp.1 and 68% in Gp.2.
The patients’ overall satisfaction with the result of their foot surgery was determined using a Likert scale and the results can be seen in Table 1.
Patients in the podiatric surgical group were significantly more satisfied with the result of their foot surgery than those in the orthopaedic group (p< 0.008; Mann Whitney U test).
Similar statistically significant differences were also seen between the two groups relating to patient satisfaction with their pre and post-operative consultations and information concerning their proposed surgery and its outcome.
Conclusion: The results of this audit suggest that the satisfaction of patients following foot surgery can rise significantly following the appointment of a podiatric surgeon to a general hospital orthopaedic department.
Correspondence should be addressed to the Honorary Secretary, BOFSS, c/o BOA, The Royal College of Surgeons, 35–43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PE.
