Patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) often require multiple appointments for treatment with Epley manoeuvres. Waiting times for medical follow up can be very long. To reduce waiting times and increase availability of ENT outpatients' appointments, a nurse-led dizziness clinic (NLDC) to follow up BPPV patients was established. Prospective audit of 99 consecutive patients attending the NLDC, at which patients are assessed and treated, was conducted. Non-responders are redirected for further medical review. 99 patients were seen in 200 appointments in the NLDC from July 2007 to May 2009. The mean time to NLDC was 16 days. 67 patients were discharged from the NLDC free of symptoms. Cost analysis revealed savings of £3,800. A survey of NLDC attendees revealed that the care they received was rated as excellent, very good or good by 92% of patients. In conclusion, the NLDC is an innovation which increases availability of ENT outpatient appointments. This is acceptable to patients and is a natural extension of the roles of ENT nurse practitioners which could be implemented in other ENT departments.
Background/aims There is a growing backlog of patients with sino-nasal disorders waiting for a follow-up appointment. This study aimed to identify rhinology patients on the outpatient follow-up list who could be removed from the waiting list for a face to face follow-up appointment and instead either given a phone consultation by a clinical nurse specialist or discharged from the service. Methods The clinical records of patients on the waiting list for a follow-up appointment at a nasal disorders clinic were reviewed by a panel comprising a consultant rhinologist, a rhinology fellow, a specialist registrar and two nurse specialists. Results A total of 300 clinical records of patients on the follow-up list of the Rhinology clinic were identified, of which 253 were found to have a sino-nasal disorder. Of these, 137 patients (54%) were discharged from the rhinology face to face follow-up clinics, while 116 patients (46%) were given face to face review appointments. Conclusions A multi-professional rhinology review panel is an effective way of managing the waiting list of an outpatient rhinology clinic and providing nurse-led telephone consultations could decrease the strain on resources while maintaining patient safety.
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