Audit of a children's epilepsy clinic.
A newly established tertiary epilepsy clinic at Guy's Hospital, London was evaluated using a structured questionnaire. Fifty parents of children with epilepsy completed this questionnaire, with some contribution from the children. While a high degree of satisfaction was obtained by the parents and where appropriate the children, specific questions about additional resources implied a large number of unmet needs. This raises methodological issues about the value of open-ended questions in audit questionnaires. In addition, concerns were expressed about many areas, some of which had direct medical implications that were not always raised with the doctors. It is concluded that the service has benefited from both clinical and neuropsychological support. The audit has prompted a number of improvements, including establishing a discussion group for adolescents.
Robinson
R O
RO
Newcomen Centre, Guy's Hospital, London, UK. richard.robinson@gstt.sthames.nhs.uk
Edwards
M
M
Madigan
C
C
Ledgar
S
S
Boutros
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D003144:Communication Barriers; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D015276:Health Care Rationing; D006801:Humans; D008131:London; D008485:Medical Audit / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D010290:Parents; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires