Produced by the Victorian Perioperative Consultative Council (VPCC), the Improving care, before, during and after surgery 2021 report contains data, trends, and identified improvements in perioperative care in Victoria, based on cases reported and reviewed by VPCC.
We must learn from these cases and continuously improve care before, during and after surgery, for all Victorians.
All surgery carries some risk. Even when the best perioperative care has been provided, sadly, each year a small number of patients experience complications and, in some instances, die during or after surgery. Many of these deaths are not preventable however, in some instances, death is an unexpected outcome. It is critical that we learn from these cases and continuously improve care before, during and after surgery, for all Victorians.
Health services and clinicians are encouraged to report perioperative morbidity and mortality to the VPCC online via the VPCC e-form.
To support improvements in care before, during and after surgery, useful templates for the management and reporting of perioperative mortality and morbidity can be found in the report including:
- unplanned return to theatre template
- perioperative cardiovascular events template
- perioperative myocardial infarction review template
- venous thromboembolism review template and
- good transfer practice guidance when transferring for escalation of care.
The VPCC encourages and supports the use of these templates.
The report also highlights the value of hospitals participating in clinical quality registries such as the Australian and New Zealand Hip Fracture Registry and the Australian and New Zealand Emergency Laparotomy Audit – Quality Improvement, which have set standards of care and key performance indicators against which to measure performance.
In addition, the VPCC recommends:
- all Victorian health services establish registries to track ureteric stents
- the systemic review of serious, unexpected adverse outcomes at the local level.
Read the Improving care, before, during and after surgery 2021 report