The Fourth Patient Report of the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA)

This is the fourth Patient Report of the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA), commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership, which is an ongoing clinical audit of adult patients having emergency bowel surgery. This ‘state of the nation’ report which is funded by NHS England and the Welsh Government, presents information about the care received by nearly 24,000 patients located in England and Wales who had surgery between 1 December 2016 and 30 November 2017.

In this 4th report there are six key themes which cover the standards against which NELA measures delivery of care for patients undergoing emergency laparotomy. For each theme there are associated actions allocated to specific owners; all are underpinned by the principles of quality improvement being specific, using measurable data from NELA, and are intended to be achievable tasks that are relevant and realistic to teams and patients within the defined time frame. The six key NELA themes are:

1) improving outcomes and reducing complications

2) ensuring all patients receive an assessment of their risk of death

3) delivering care within agreed timeframes for all patients

4) enabling consultant input in the perioperative period for all high risk patients

5) effective multidisciplinary working

6) supporting quality improvement

To download the full report click on the link below.