A one-stop carpal tunnel clinic.
BACKGROUND
By December 2008, 90% of referrals requiring hospital admission will need to be seen and treated within the 18-week patient pathway. Previously, patients within our trust with suspected carpal tunnel syndrome had to wait 3 months to see a specialist in clinic and, once assessed, would have to wait up to a further 6 months for an open carpal tunnel decompression under local anaesthetic (OCTD/LA). We set up a one-stop clinic, where patients would have their out-patient consultation and surgery on the same day. We evaluated the clinic in order to assess whether it led to reduced waiting times whilst maintaining good clinical outcome and patient satisfaction.


METHODS
Patients were selected on the basis of the standard referral letter alone. Those selected were then assessed by a single surgeon in the clinic. The patients deemed appropriate underwent an OCTD/LA and were discharged the same day. Patients were followed up with a patient satisfaction and Boston questionnaire.


RESULTS
Forty-six patients underwent 63 OCTD/LA, waiting an average of 2.2 months (9 weeks) from referral. There was high patient satisfaction and improvement in symptoms following treatment in the clinic.


CONCLUSIONS
We believe a one-stop carpal tunnel clinic can be an efficient and cost-effective way of treating this common condition.
Reid
M J
MJ
Department of Orthopaedics, Kent and Sussex Hospital, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK.
David
L A
LA
Nicholl
J E
JE
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000458:organization & administration; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011446:Prospective Studies