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Covering ENT out of hours: how confident are senior house officers?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2006

S J Davis  and
S McDonald
S J Davis
Affiliation:
ENT Department, Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, UK.
S McDonald
Affiliation:
ENT Department, Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital, Exeter, UK.
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Abstract

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Background: The implementation of the European working time directive has led to an increase in cross-speciality out-of-hours cover. This survey illustrates ENT out-of-hours cover arrangements and assesses the implications for senior house officers (SHOs) responsible for managing emergencies.

Methods: A telephone survey of 100 ENT departments was conducted, asking the on-call SHO about departmental structure, on-call rota design, their previous ENT experience, access to SHO training and their confidence in managing emergencies.

Results: 44 per cent of departments used only ENT SHOs on the on-call rota. 73 per cent always had an ENT middle grade on call. In 60 per cent of hospitals, the ENT consultant was sometimes on call with only a non-ENT SHO. At the time of the study, 5 per cent of SHOs had no ENT experience, no access to training, were not confident in managing simple emergencies and were on-call without middle-grade cover.

Conclusion: The current junior on-call structure for ENT has implications for patient management.

Keywords

OtolaryngologyEmergenciesEducationUKOut-of-hours
Type
Main Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 120 , Issue 7 , July 2006 , pp. 587 - 590
Copyright
2006 JLO (1984) Limited