Referral Patterns of Children Seeking Out-Patient Neurology Service at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in the Middle of a Pandemic (original) (raw)

2022, African Journal of Current Medical Research

Background The Paediatric Neurology Clinic at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) was established in 2002 and run twice weekly. It offers management for children with non-surgical neurological and neuro-developmental disorders and has an average attendance of 20 patients (including 5 new cases) a day. In 2019, there were 2050 visits. Following the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, measures were instituted to prevent over-crowding at the clinic including a booking system where new patients were given appointment dates. Currently, there is no data on the referral patterns seen at the clinic and how the appointment system has impacted new patients’ attendance. Aim To determine the patterns of referrals and time lapse between referrals and first visit for new patients seen at the clinic in 2020. Method: A retrospective review of referral notes received at the clinic from January to December 2020 was done to extract data on the age, sex, referring facility, region, referring diagnos...