The Impact of a Change in Referral Pathway on a Paediatric Short-Stay Ward in Cape Town; South Africa

ABSTRACT

Background. The opening of the new Khayelitsha District Hospital in April 2012 coincided with a change in referral pathway to Tygerberg Hospital (TBH) for children requiring specialist care. Objective. To determine the disease burden impact of the referral pathway change on paediatric short-stay ward admissions at TBH. Methods. A retrospective cohort study; analysing routine health information as captured in ward admissions registers over two similar seasonal periods 1 April - 30 September 2011 (prior to referral change) and 1 April - 30 September 2012 (post referral change). Results. Paediatric short-stay ward admissions remained similar; but a statistically significant increase in the number of admissions from Khayelitsha sub-district (SD) (p0.001) was seen. The median age was 13 months over the two time periods.Children from Khayelitsha (median age 9.49 months for 2011 and 5.2 months for 2012) were; however; significantly younger than those from other SDs (median age 26.31 months in 2011 and 26.44 months in 2012) (p