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[Haydo]

Can anyone tell me how to find out a surgeon’s track record of outcomes and their success rate etc?  I’ve done a search on the Royal College of Surgeons website without success and cannot find where else to look. 

[CLKD]

Ask your GP?

[groundhog]

Can anyone tell me how to find out a surgeon’s track record of outcomes and their success rate etc?  I’ve done a search on the Royal College of Surgeons website without success and cannot find where else to look.

I’ve tried looking for this info but I haven’t had much success either sorry. 

[Haydo]

Thank you both for responding.  I am actually asking this for a friend, as I hoped someone might know the answer on this forum.   Unfortunately she is unable to get a telephone appointment to speak with her GP until 20 January!  The receptionist was no help.  The information must be out there somewhere surely, but it’s knowing how to access it.  Maybe someone will come along who knows.

[Jellyb]

If you can track down their Secretary, she may be able to guide you in the right direction?

[Postmeno3]

I'm not sure if this is useful or not, but, if you know the hospital, you could look to see if there are reviews? Also, Trustpilot? Sometimes private hospitals have direct contact details for individuals by e-mail and your friend might get just a sense of or "feel" for them by that means? They might agree to a short call from that if asked. Gps seem to close ranks on stuff like this which I've never quite understood, but I'm guessing, as with anything, a recommendation gone wrong could end up backfiring. Sorry not to be of more help.

[Kathleen]

Hello Haydo

This is probably an obvious thing to say but have you tried The British Medical Association (BMA)?

We are often advised to check out our surgeons but of course in practice it seems very difficult.

Take care.

K.

[Haydo]

Thank you for your suggestions.   My friend has an appointment to see the surgeon (NHS) and feels if if she could see what other people thought of him and see his success rate she would feel more comfortable at going ahead with her op.  All very understandable.  She is not very computer savvy so I said I would look into it for her.  The idea of her  ringing his secretary is a good one, and I’ll have a look to see if there are any reviews on the hospital website and trustpilot later on today.  After all, we look at reviews for everything else why can’t we see reviews when we’re literally putting our lives in their hands!

Yes, I have done a quick search of the BMA website but no luck.  I think I’ll have to devote more time than I thought to this!

[CLKD]

Everyone is entitled to a second opinion which should be made via the GP.

Some Surgeons work in different hospitals within an area which probably isn't much help is 1 is concerned.  When I had breast surgery I was offered the opportunity of talking with others in a similar position, but I declined.  I trusted my surgeon from the outset.

Could you contact the manager who oversees the whole hospital?  I forget what title he/she goes under these days.  Each hospital has a web-site on which some, but not all, show staff for each Dept..

[Postmeno3]

Ah, sorry, I hadn't realised it was NHS. Maybe just a Google search of his name? LinkedIn? You're unlikely to get anything in terms of positive feedback, sadly, through what I suggested previously based on private practice, but perhaps phoning his secretary might lead to something. Don't hold your breath, though, if hoping for recommendation. Can your friend be encouraged just to "park" any urgency over this at the moment? In what ways is the gp going to help? It seems an awful long delay for an appointment? Ask for a cancellation?
Look after yourself, too, in all this.

[CLKD]

A GP will have sent many patients to many Consultants over the years and will. have some idea of tract records.  Also, until Covid, there were medical meetings where new procedures were discussed, one gets an idea as to the character of medics if 1 stands back and watched interactions. 

I looked on two of my local hospital trust websites and there is a lot of trawling to be done .  How about contacting PALS - people who liaise between patients and staff?

[Postmeno3]

I'm not sure a gp would be ethically/confidentiality correct in making recommendations, though? They might comment on their personality, but I doubt their skill? The whole thing is....every patient will have a completely unique experience of their surgery and those doing it. I wouldn't want to offer a personal view on that basis. Suggest take a deep breath and let things take a natural course if you can? Keep posting if it helps, though!

[applespider]

If you're looking at a surgeon that also does private surgeries, you can look on BUPA's/AXA's consultant lists to get an sense of how many surgeries they have done of each kind.  That might help with the reassurance that they are familiar with the procedure... although if most of their work is NHS, that's not going to help.  Some of the surgeons do also have links to doctor review sites.  They also advertise if they've got any specialities/interests/publications there.  My GP wouldn't help with a recommendation despite some of the options being based at their local trust.

But, honestly, it's hit and miss.  I had private surgery earlier this year.  I picked my surgeon based on BUPA's recommendations and the hospitals they worked at.  He had an publication interest in my condition and had a review saying that he was an excellent mentor.  He appears to have been a very good surgeon based on my recovery so far... but if I had the opportunity to review (which I haven't had), I'd have called out his lack of bedside manner and chaotic administrative. 

[Haydo]

Thanks for all your suggestions.  Having looked into it, the thing to do is to ask the surgeon for his PROMs report (patient recorded outcome measures), which is a report collected by an independent body.   Evidently the information is not publicly available but can be requested from your surgeon, who should be happy to give it to you.  It is a report which has collated data from patients monitoring their condition pre-surgery and post-surgery and how happy the patient is with the overall outcome.

I thought I would post this as it might help someone else, as I certainly didn’t know about it.   My friend is going to ring the surgeon’s secretary and ask her for it.  I am hoping that will reassure her before the meeting and that she takes to him when she meets him. 

[CLKD]

Tnx so much.  Suggest to your friend to make a list of queries to take with her.