The Perioperative Quality Improvement Programme : protocol for a UK multicentre, prospective cohort study to measure quality of care and outcomes after major surgery

• Published in: Perioperative Medicine 2022, Vol.11 (1)
• Main Authors: Moonesinghe, S. Ramani, McGuckin, Dermot, Martin, Peter, Bedford, James, Wagstaff, Duncan, Gilhooly, David, Santos, Cristel, Wilson, Jonathan, Dorey, Jenny, Leeman, Irene, Smith, Helena, Vindrola-Padros, Cecilia, Edwards, Kylie, Singleton, Georgina, Swart, Michael, Baumber, Rachel, Sahni, Arun, Warnakulasuriya, Samantha, Vohra, Ravi, Ellicott, Helen, Bougeard, Anne-Marie, Chazapis, Maria, Ignacka, Aleksandra, Cripps, Martin, Brent, Alexandra, Drake, Sharon, Goodwin, James, Martinez, Dorian, Williams, Karen, Singh, Pritam, Bedford, Matthew, Vallance, Abigail E, Samuel, Katie, Lourtie, Jose, Olive, Dominic, Taylor, Christine, Tucker, Olga, Aresu, Giuseppe, Swift, Andrew, Fulop, Naomi, Grocott, Mike, Moonesinghe, Ramani, Comish, Jake, McCann, Claire, Nasser, Leila, Snowden, Chris, Stones, John, Swart, Mike, Vallance, Abigail, Vindrola, Cecilia, Wiliams, Karen, Abercrombie, John, Anwar, Suhail, Bachelor, Anna, Brett, Stephen, Clark, Tom, Cooper, Graham, Crossley, Anna, Dhesi, Jugdeep, Digner, Marie, Evans, Elspeth, Hamilton, Mark, Hill, Robert, Huish, Zoe, Mahajan, Ravi, Murray, Dave, Mythen, Monty, McGhie, Jonathan, McGrath, John, Shinde, Samantha, Speakman, Mark, Vaux, Emma
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Subjects: Measurement; Medical care; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Mortality; Quality management; United Kingdom
• ISSN: 2047-0525; 2047-0525
• DOI: 10.1186/s13741-022-00262-3

Major surgery accounts for a substantial proportion of health service activity, due not only to the primary procedure, but the longer-term health implications of poor short-term outcome. Data from small studies or from outside the UK indicate that rates of complications and failure to rescue vary between hospitals, as does compliance with best practice processes. Within the UK, there is currently no system for monitoring postoperative complications (other than short-term mortality) in major non-cardiac surgery. Further, there is variation between national audit programmes, in the emphasis placed on quality assurance versus quality improvement, and therefore the principles of measurement and reporting which are used to design such programmes. The PQIP patient study is a multi-centre prospective cohort study which recruits patients undergoing major surgery. Patient provide informed consent and contribute baseline and outcome data from their perspective using a suite of patient-reported outcome tools. Research and clinical staff complete data on patient risk factors and outcomes in-hospital, including two measures of complications. Longer-term outcome data are collected through patient feedback and linkage to national administrative datasets (mortality and readmissions). As well as providing a uniquely granular dataset for research, PQIP provides feedback to participating sites on their compliance with evidence-based processes and their patients' outcomes, with the aim of supporting local quality improvement.