title: Minimum standards for the management of cleft lip and palate: efforts to close the audit loop. Royal College of Surgeons of England.
abstract: Intercentre audit in the late 1980s revealed poorer outcomes for facial growth for British patients with cleft lip and palate than equivalent patients in northern Europe. A subsequent survey of the surgical practices in England and Wales, under the auspices of the Surgical Audit and Epidemiology Unit, revealed the widespread involvement of low-volume operators in cleft care, a tendency for low-volume operators to have an incomplete network of associated professionals, and non-standardised record keeping protocols. Recommendations for minimum standards of care for children born with cleft lip and palate were produced by a multidisciplinary steering group. A further investigation is planned to determine their validity and to provide a baseline for future audit cycles.
authors.affiliation: Surgical Audit and Epidemiology Unit, Royal College of Surgeons of England, London.
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Sandy
authors.forename: H B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Devlin
mesh_terms: D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000601:surgery*; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000601:surgery*; D004739:England; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008485:Medical Audit; D013515:Surgery, Oral / Q000592:standards