TY - JOUR T1 - Impact of a new bedside thoracic ultrasound service in a large district general hospital: A service evaluation JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 38 IS - Suppl 55 SP - p3704 AU - Helen Stanworth AU - Paul Marsden AU - Matthew Evison AU - Graham Hoadley AU - Tarek Saba Y1 - 2011/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p3704.abstract N2 - Background: In 2008, the UK National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) issued an alert recommending the use of thoracic ultrasound to aid chest drain insertion (NPSA/2008/RRR003).Our institution is a large district general hospital in North-West England, serving a local population of approximately 330,000 people and a further 12 million holidaymakers who visit the area each year. In 2009, a Physician-Led Ultrasound Service (PL-US) was launched, in addition to the existing Radiology-Led Ultrasound Service (RL-US).Aim: To investigate the demand for PL-US and the impact on workload and training.Methods: We audited the number of procedures performed by physicians and radiologists from May-July 2008, 2009 and 2010.Results: The total number of procedures increased from 24 (all RL-US) in 2008 to 66 (29 RL-US and 32 PL-US). The proportion of RL-US procedures requested by respiratory medicine fell from 46% (11/24) in 2008 to 17% (4/24) in 2009 and 14% (4/29) in 2010, with the remaining RL-US procedures requested by other specialities. In addition, in 2010 a total of 24 thoracic ultrasounds were performed on respiratory patients, 20 of these 24 were performed by the PL-US, with only the remaining 4 by the RL-US.Conclusions: Overall demand for thoracic ultrasound has risen by 275% since the UK NPSA alert in 2008. Since introduction of the PL-US, the total number of chest medicine referrals to the RL-US has fallen by 64%. In addition, 83% of thoracic ultrasounds in respiratory patients are now performed by physicians. Importantly, training opportunities for radiologists have not diminished as a result of this service. ER -