title: Paediatric surgery--a general hospital experience.
abstract: Plans to centralise paediatric surgery in Ireland have potentially significant implications for service provision and surgical training. study assesses the workload of paediatric surgery in a district hospital over a five-year period. Paediatric surgical admissions and procedures at Mayo General Hospital from January 2006 - December 2010 were reviewed. Data was obtained from the Hospital inpatient enquiry (HIPE) systems and theatre logbooks. 4,255 surgical procedures were performed in 3981 paediatric patients, accounting for 7.4% of the total surgical workload. 2,578 (65%) of cases were elective and 1403 (35%) of paediatric surgery was performed in the emergency setting; paediatric appendicectomy was the most commonly performed procedure (n = 554) with a complication rate of 2.5%. There were no paediatric surgery related mortalities. Paediatric surgery represents a significant part of the surgical workload. There is a continued need for general paediatric surgical provision in this regional setting, supported by access to specialist centres for complicated paediatric surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Mayo General Hospital, Castlebar, Co Mayo.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fahy
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Lowery
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Waldron
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Barry
mesh_terms: D001062:Appendectomy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D002944:Circumcision, Male / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013502:General Surgery / Q000458:organization & administration; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland; D008297:Male; D013503:Surgery Department, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016526:Workload / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*