TY - JOUR T1 - Safety of community-based minor surgery performed by GPs: an audit in different settings JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - e323 LP - e328 DO - 10.3399/bjgp16X684397 VL - 66 IS - 646 AU - Jonathan Botting AU - Ana Correa AU - James Duffy AU - Simon Jones AU - Simon de Lusignan Y1 - 2016/05/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/66/646/e323.abstract N2 - Background Minor surgery is a well-established part of family practice, but its safety and cost-effectiveness have been called into question.Aim To audit the performance of GP minor surgeons in three different settings.Design and setting A community-based surgery audit of GP minor surgery cases and outcomes from three settings: GPs who carried out minor surgery in their practice funded as enhanced (primary care) services (ESGPs); GPs with a special interest (GPwSIs) who worked independently within a healthcare organisation; and GPs working under acute trust governance (Model 2 GPs).Method An audit form was completed by volunteer GP minor surgeons. Data were collected about areas of interest and aggregated data tables produced. Percentages were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and significant differences across the three groups of GPs tested using the χ2 test.Results A total of 6138 procedures were conducted, with 41% (2498; 95% CI = 39.5 to 41.9) of GP minor surgery procedures being on the head/face. Nearly all of the samples from a procedure that were expected to be sent to histology were sent (5344; 88.8%; 95% CI = 88.0 to 89.6). Malignant diagnosis was correct in 69% (33; 95% CI = 54.2 to 79.2) of cases for ESGPs, 93% (293; 95% CI = 90.1 to 95.5) for GPwSIs, and 91% (282; 95% CI = 87.2 to 93.6) for Model 2 GPs. Incomplete excision was significantly more frequent for ESGPs (17%; 9; 95% CI = 7.5 to 28.3, P<0.001). Complication rates were very low across all practitioners.Conclusion GP minor surgery is safe and prompt. GPs working within a managed framework performed better. Consideration needs to be given on how better to support less well-supervised GPs. ER -