Suture material use and procurement: an audit of a public hospital surgical system in Gauteng, South Africa.
S Afr J Surg
; 56(2): 45-49, 2018 Jun.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30010264
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Surgical systems are integral to successful, safe and cost effective clinical practice and must balance surgical demands on consumable items and their costs. Suture material is a key consumable resource, and was evaluated in an audit of consumable use and cost as well as the procurement systems within the South African Gauteng public health care sector.AIMS:
To determine suture use and cost in the four commonest general surgical procedures - abdominal wall closure, mastectomy, appendicectomy and inguinal hernia repair - in three academic Gauteng hospitals. Performance and availability were evaluated as a secondary aim in suture material use.METHOD:
A prospective observational study. Suture use was documented by the surgeon at the time of the procedure and qualitative investigation at relevant hospital departments determined suture material procurement and expenditure.RESULTS:
The surgeons in three facilities documented consistent material type and average number of units used; however, in some cases there was a lack of availability of appropriate material and breakage of generic material intraoperatively. There is no consistent and consolidated electronic record-keeping of suture stock and cost in all three hospitals, therefore cost of suture material used was not obtainable.CONCLUSION:
Clinical deficiencies in availability and quality of material may have adverse implications for patient health, healthcare costs and budgets through procedure-related complications and should be investigated. There is a lack of communication between the financial management, procurement officers, hospital and theatre stores and theatre staff. It is suggested that clinical protocols and system-based strategies be put in place to manage surgical consumables.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Surgical Procedures, Operative
/
Sutures
/
Hospital Costs
/
Medical Audit
Type of study:
Clinical_trials
/
Etiology_studies
/
Guideline
/
Observational_studies
/
Qualitative_research
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
En
Journal:
S Afr J Surg
Year:
2018
Document type:
Article