Assessing the standard of emergency general surgical (EGS) operation notes in accordance with the Royal College of Surgeons guidelines

Objective: Operation notes are important for care in surgical patients. The objectives of this study were to analyze the emergency general surgery (EGS) operation note documentation in accordance with the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCSEng) guidelines and to assess the impact of creating awareness of the guidelines and effect of a new proforma. Material and Methods: A retrospective review of 50 EGS operation notes was conducted between December 2019 and March 2020 and compared to RCSEng guidelines. Education was delivered on the importance of documentation in accordance with RCSEng guidelines. A new electronic proforma was introduced. A further 50 EGS operation notes were analysed between August 2020 and December 2020. Results: One hundred operation notes were reviewed, and each given a score out of 19. Our interventions showed significant improvement to the average score (15.64 vs 17.96; p < 0.001). Within the second cycle, there was a statistically significance difference when comparing electronic to handwritten notes (18.55 vs 17.50; p = 0.001). Conclusion: Implementation of the new proforma showed improvement in operation note documentation when compared to the RCSEng standard. Therefore, this study emphasizes the need for surgeons to familiarize themselves with the current guidelines.