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    G116 COPY LETTERS—DO PARENTS WANT THEM?

    J. M. Kenny, M. L. Vincent, N. Shabde. Departments of Paediatrics, North Tyneside General Hospital, North Shields and Albion Road Clinic, Albion Road, North Shields, Tyne and Wear

    Background: The Department of Health recommends that from April 2004 patients (or their parents) should receive copies of letters sent to their GPs following attendance at outpatient clinics. We did not identify any studies looking at whether these letters are wanted in the literature and worries about sending letters to paediatric patients have been raised. We aimed to ascertain parental wishes regarding copy letters.

    Methods: A prospective study was carried out during two time periods of 5 weeks duration in two clinical settings—an acute paediatric hospital outpatient clinic and a community clinic. At the end of the consultation the paediatrician involved read a standardised statement, asking parents whether they would like a copy of the GP letter. The outcomes looked at the proportion of parents requesting a letter, an estimation of additional workload resulting from offering letters, and resulting parental satisfaction as measured by postal survey.

    Results: 116 letters were offered during 17 outpatient clinics. 55 parents requested a copy letter (47%). A marked difference between hospital and community clinics was observed. In hospital clinics only 33% of parents wanted a letter compared with 66% in community clinics. No additional workload other than the copying of the letter resulted. Parental satisfaction of those who received a letter was high.

    Conclusion: This study questions whether routinely sending copies of the GP letter to parents of paediatric patients following a consultation is best practice. Those who request a copy letter report high satisfaction. The additional workload involved with sending a copy letter is low. We would recommend asking parents before a letter is sent.

    G117 A REGIONAL TRAINING WEBSITE—OUR EXPERIENCE

    C. Dunkley, D. Wood, R. C. Groggins, D. Thomas. Department …

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