Approximately 49,000 cholecystectomy procedures took place in England between April 2007 and March 2008. In 2005-06 the national average day case cholecystectomy rate was only 6.4%, with almost half of trusts having a day case rate of less than 5% and a third doing no day cases at all. In 2007-08 the day case rate has increased to approximately 17%. The highest performing organisations achieve between 40 and 50%, but aim to achieve at least 70%.
By following the pathway:
Ten trusts were selected as part of this programme, one per strategic health authority. Each trust is working with the NHS Institute’s cholecystectomy team who are providing free support to implement the recommended pathway for cholecystectomy. The NHS Institute are supporting the trusts in understanding where to focus improvement activity to improve their day case rates for cholecystectomy and day surgery in general.
The participating trusts are:
| Strategic health authority | NHS trust |
|---|---|
| East of England | Luton and Dunstable Hospital NHS Foundation Trust |
| East Midlands | Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust |
| London | Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust |
| North East | Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust |
| North West | Central Manchester and Manchester Children’s University Hospitals Trust |
| South Central | Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust |
| South East Coast | Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust |
| South West | Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust |
| West Midlands | Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
The NHS Institute, in collaboration with each SHA, will support and facilitate the development of network events for each SHA region in England. These one day events will provide opportunities for every trust within the SHA region, to share their experiences of improving the cholecystectomy pathway.
Please keep visiting the website for information about new events.
For further information about this programme contact Sophie Cowley at sophie.cowley@institute.nhs.uk *
* Please note that the NHS Instituet is an innovation and improvement organisation and is unable to give medical advice to patients or their carers