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Q Bulletin, Volume 1, No. 32 (Supplement 1), Jan - Dec 202412th National QA Convention, 8 %u2013 10 October 2024QLL-113Improving the Percentage of Elective Cases Completion in Oral MaxillofacialSurgery Department in Hospital Sungai BulohShobana Nair V, Syed YA, Aswani AB, Farhain J, Paramesh N, Syed I, Sreepathy SHospital Sungai Buloh, SelangorSELECTION OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT:An increase in waiting time for operation under general anaesthesia could result in a high rate of defaultcases, negatively impacting patient health outcomes, hospital finances and resources. Verification studyfrom January %u2013 March 2022 showed 40% of patients completed their elective surgery under generalanaesthesia within 6 months in the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) Department of HospitalSungai Buloh.KEY MEASURES FOR IMPROVEMENT:The key indicator for improvement was measured using the percentage of patients completing theirelective surgery in the OMFS department within six months. The standard was set at more and equal to90% based on departmental consensus.PROCESS OF GATHERING INFORMATION:A quality improvement study was conducted using universal sampling of all patients eligible for electivecases under general anaesthesia in the OMFS clinic. The verification study was conducted from Januaryto June 2022 followed by two cycles of strategy implementation and post intervention evaluations.ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION:The contributing factors include 40% of patients required further assessment prior to surgery, 16%deferred surgery due to upper respiratory tract infections, 38% defaulted appointments and 6% were dueto clerical errors.STRATEGIES FOR CHANGE:Strategies include rearranging the operation theatre schedule based on priorities, including elective cases,appointing OT manager, reinforcing reminders to patients via WhatsApp and assigning dental officers tofollow up. Educational brochures given to patients. Additionally, the OT waiting list book was digitalisedto improve monitoring. Continuous medical education (CME) sessions were conducted for clinical staff.EFFECT OF CHANGE:The percentage of patients completing their elective surgery increased from 40 % to 75% in cycle 1, andfurther to 96% in cycle 2. The Achievable Benefit Not Achievable was reduced from 50% to -6%.THE NEXT STEP:This study is still ongoing with regular audits conducted at the clinic level. We plan to share ourexperience with all dental clinics facing similar issues.206 | Page