Cancelled elective surgical operations at El Obeid Hospital, Western Sudan

ABSTRACT

Cancellation of scheduled surgical operations on the day of surgery at hospitals upsets the patients and causes great concern to the relatives. It is also a major drain on health resources as the theatre costs increase and its efficiency decreases. The objective of this study is to estimate the frequency of cancellation of scheduled elective surgical operations on the day of surgery and to study the reasons for cancellation at El Obeid Teaching Hospital, Western Sudan. This is a prospective observational study. All the patients who had their major general surgical operations cancelled on the day of surgery during the year 2007 were included. The information were collected in a preformed questionnaire containing the patient characteristics, clinical diagnosis, intended operation, proposed anaesthesia and the exact reasons for cancellation. There were 1633 elective major general surgical operations performed during the study period. 162 cases [9.9%] were cancelled, eighty nine patients [55%] were females. The mean age was 46.5 years. The causes of cancellations were 34.6% patient related, 32.1% staff related and 33.3% procedural reasons. Cancellation of scheduled surgical operations on the day of surgery is a significant problem which annoys patients, increases die costs and decreases the efficiency of utilization of the theatre facilities. The reasons for cancellation were discussed. With better arrangements, the majority of the reasons can be avoided