BRONGLAIS Hospital’s emergency laparotomy service has been named as the best in Wales according to the results of a national audit.

The National Emergency Laparotomy Audit’s first report into the care provided for patients in England and Wales highlighted Bronglais Hospital the only Welsh hospital to be included in a list of those displaying best practice across England and Wales.

A laparotomy is a surgical procedure involving a large incision through the abdominal wall.

The audit looked at a range of measures in inv­asive emergency abdominal surgery, and rated Bronglais as the best of the Welsh hospitals.

Bronglais scored highly in the proportion of patients whose care needs were met by pre-operatively documenting their risk, admission to theatre in the appropriate timescale relative to urgency and carrying out preoperative reviews by consultant surgeons and anaesthetists.

Bronglais was also highly rated for ensuring that consultant surgeons and anaesthetists are present in theatre and ensuring direct post-operative admission to critical care, as well as being the only Welsh hospital to be highly rated for carrying out post-operative assessments by a specialist in patients over 70.

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