An Audit of Paediatric Audit in Scotland

Abstract

We undertook a retrospective review of the Scottish Clinical Audit Project Register (SCAPR). This generated information on audit activities in Scotland relating to children aged 0–15 years over the period 1992 to 1997. All healthcare specialties (including dentistry) in both acute and community sectors were included. Of the 7,073 registered entries, 613 (9%) relating to children were identified. Greater Glasgow contributed a third of entries despite having only 18% of the child population. Over half the projects were conducted in secondary care settings and only 5% in primary care. Medicine and nursing appeared the most audit active professional groups. Our findings suggest that children (who comprise 19% of the Scottish population) are an under-audited group in Scotland. Secondary care (especially surgery) seemed over-represented and primary care under-represented as audit settings. We were unable to use the SCAPR to identify specific service deficiencies or improvements that may have been stimulated in the course of “closing the audit loop.” Future refinements to the way data are collected and recorded on the SCAPR will clearly require to address this shortcoming.