Paediatric otolaryngology services in the UK: a postal questionnaire survey of ENT consultants

Abstract

Approximately half a million children in England and Wales receive in-patient or day-case surgical treatment annually. Otolaryngology is the surgical specialty that provides the greatest number of episodes of such care. As 30–50 per cent of our total volume of work is paediatric, we feel it is important to assess current attitudes to paediatric otolaryngological practice. In its year 2000 document Children’s Surgery: a First Class Service, The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) of England sets out recommendations on how children’s surgical services should be delivered in the UK. A postal questionnaire was sent to all UK-based ENT consultant members of the British Association of Otorhinolaryngologists-Head and Neck Surgeons (BAO-HNS). The questionnaire was designed to assess the current practice of paediatric otolaryngology in the UK with an emphasis on the RCS recommendations. Wide variations were found, and they are discussed with reference to the recommendations.