Scottish Government : Health and Social Care Resources

Leading on from expressed clinical enthusiasm to establish a Scottish equivalent of the very successful National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA) from England and Wales; in June 2017, a national consensus meeting was held that brought clinicians from all sites in Scotland together. Mr Iain Anderson (NELA surgical advisor) provided expert guidance and assistance in defining the scope and aims of a national programme. Through this meeting a minimal dataset and national pathway was developed to support local teams in coordinating and understanding patient care for emergency laparotomy patients across NHS Scotland.

Aims of ELLSA  

The primary aims of the programme through the first year sought to:

1. Apply clear inclusion and exclusion criteria to collect a set of consecutive data on patients undergoing emergency surgery that would provide the first comprehensive characterisation of the ELLSA patient.
2. Recruit all Scottish hospitals undertaking emergency general surgical work into the programme and form a clinical and collaborative network through which future changes in emergency surgical care can be introduced.
3. Describe current processes of care throughout NHS Scotland.

To contact the MPPP/SAC team, please email cfsdmppp@nhs.scot