Paediatrics Session
AB032. SOH26AB_0219. Referral patterns and clinic outcomes: the impact of Ireland’s first regional paediatric surgical facility
Rebecca Conway1, Eibhlin Burns Beattie2, Austin Kerin2, Alexios Karakatsanis2, Nicola Brindley3, Tara M. Connelly2,4
1Faculty of Education and Health Services, School of Medicine, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland;
2Department of Surgery, University Hospital Limerick, Limerick, Ireland;
3Department of General Surgery, Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) at Temple Street, Dublin, Ireland;
4Health Research Institute (HRI), University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
Background: Timely access to high-quality surgical care for children, regardless of location, is a core principle of the National Model of Care for Paediatric Surgery in Ireland. In 2023, University Hospital Limerick (UHL) established Ireland’s first dedicated Paediatric General Surgical Specialist Interest Service in conjunction with Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) and Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). This service provides specialist care close to home for the children of the Midwest. This audit aimed to examine referral patterns and clinic outcomes following the introduction of this dedicated Paediatric Surgical Special Interest Team (PSSIT).
Methods: In this retrospective audit of index referrals from September 2023 to September 2025, data analysed included: date referral received, date of appointment and surgery, referral source, and appointment outcomes.
Results: During the study period, 450 referrals (mean age, 8.5±4.9 years) were seen in clinic. Volumes rose post-PSSIT implementation: 29 [late 2023], 311 [2024], and 110 [partial 2025], peaking at 40–43/month [Mar–June 2024]. Most referrals came from general practitioners (64%) and internal consultants (28%). Mean referral to appointment interval was 93±72 days, decreasing from 94 [2024] to 72 days [2025]. Clinic outcomes were review 52% (n=235), discharge 24% (n=107), and listed for surgery 12% (n=53).
Conclusions: Regional implementation of a dedicated paediatric special interest surgical team increased referral volumes and reduced waiting times for children in UHL. It also enhanced clinical efficiency, leading to excellent discharge and review rates and over 10% of children being listed for surgery after one visit. This initiative demonstrates how regional targeted service redesign can deliver measurable improvements and offers a blueprint for national rollout.
Keywords: Clinical audit; outpatient; paediatric surgery; referral patterns; University Hospital Limerick (UHL)
Acknowledgments
None.
Funding: None.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
doi: 10.21037/map-26-ab032
Cite this abstract as: Conway R, Beattie EB, Kerin A, Karakatsanis A, Brindley N, Connelly TM. AB032. SOH26AB_0219. Referral patterns and clinic outcomes: the impact of Ireland’s first regional paediatric surgical facility. Mesentery Peritoneum 2026;10:AB032.
