GIRFT data to help NHS teams improve the care and outcomes of patients in need of oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) has been added to the Model Health System.
A new compartment of clinical metrics for OMFS is now available via the improvement tool, giving trusts and systems the opportunity to gauge their own performance and benchmark against their peers in areas such as head and neck cancer, orthognathic surgery and dentoalveolar procedures.
Access the metrics by logging in here and going to the GIRFT specialty compartment.
Once logged in, users can drill down into more than 50 metrics on key clinical areas like emergency readmissions, day case rates, outpatient rates and average length of stay – for example, gauging outpatient procedures rates for wisdom tooth surgery or the number of emergency readmissions in 30 days following major head and neck cancer surgery.
Miss Morton said: “These metrics allow providers and systems to log in and see at a glance how they are performing and identify where they can make improvements.
“It is vital that consultants working in the specialty register for Model Health System, if they haven’t already, and familiarise themselves with these metrics and how to use them for the benefit of their patients.”
GIRFT now has clinical metrics for 13 specialties* on Model Health System, as well as metrics related to high volume low complexity (HVLC) pathways which can be used to support elective recovery.
The new OMFS metrics have been drawn from GIRFT’s national review of oral and maxillofacial surgery, led by Maire Morton (consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and former president of the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons – BAOMS). Her GIRFT national report for the specialty was published in 2018, recommending a range of actions to help prevent out-of-hours operations and the cancellation of planned procedures, and reduce pre and post-operative length of stay.
*Current GIRFT metrics are available for ENT, general surgery, gynaecology, OMFS, ophthalmology, orthopaedic surgery, paediatric surgery, paediatric ENT, spinal services and urology. Historic metrics (due to be reviewed) are also in place for cardiothoracic surgery, neurosurgery and vascular surgery.
