We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 March 2006
This was a prospective study and analysis of the clinical nature and severity of consultation, patient age and sex, place of consultation, grade of attending doctor and management strategy of in-patients referred for a specialist opinion to a Department of Otolaryngology.
Internal requests for consultation were evaluated at the North Manchester General Hospital between October 1999 and August 2000 (n=101).
Patients referred to the Otolaryngology department were of a varied clinical nature with head and neck complaints being the largest group. Forty-six of the patients had minor complaints.Patients were found to be predominantly male and older than 50 years of age. The grade of attending doctor was predominantly a Specialist Registrar and the management strategy was most frequently conservative.
Many of the requests for consultation were regarding minor problems that could be referred to a routine out-patient clinic. There is a need to improve the indication criteria for internalconsultation, as well as the information provided in them.
