Abstract
Introduction
The concept of a predetermined first patient on the following days trauma list (the golden patient) was introduced to our hospital in April 2009. The golden patient (GP) should already have been seen by an anaesthetist and be ready to be sent for by theatres early. The aim was to improve theatre start times following disappointing results from a previous in-hospital study. It has been shown by others to improve operation start times and could be used to improve trauma services and meet clinical targets more readily.
Methods
This prospective study involved the collection of planned trauma lists with the designated GP over November and December 2009. Data was collected from theatre logbooks and included patient demographics, theatre arrival, anaesthetic and operation start times. This was compared with the pre-GP data (January and February 2009). A two sample T-test was used to evaluate statistical significance between groups.
Results
Of the 55 planned trauma lists analysed, 42 had a designated GP on it (76%), 37 of which remained first on the actual trauma list (88%). The mean theatre reception arrival time for the pre-GP lists was 09:25 compared to 09:01 for the actual GP lists (P< 0.001). The mean anaesthetic start time for the pre-GP lists was 09:35 compared to 09:09 for the actual GP lists (P< 0.001). The mean operation start time for the pre-GP lists was 10:03 compared to 09:33 for the actual GP lists (P< 0.001). The start times for pre-GP lists compared with lists where no GP was selected were not statistically significant.
Conclusion
The introduction of the GP to our trauma lists has made a significant improvement to theatre start times. This simple concept has the potential to increase the productivity of trauma theatres in the UK, leading to improved care of trauma patients.
