A Quality Improvement Project was undertaken to improve the completion of operative consent forms within a UK hospital plastic surgery department. Four weekly interventions were made which were accompanied by four further data collection cycles.

Background Royal College of Surgeons guidelines exist on the importance of full, accurate and legible completion of consent forms as a key part of the process of gaining informed consent. In addition to this, consent forms serve as an important medico-legal document to protect clinicians and patients should problems arise. It is therefore in all parties' interests that they are correctly completed.

It was noted that consent forms within the Royal London Hospital Plastic Surgery department were often not correctly completed. A Quality Improvement Project was undertaken to improve the completion of consent forms within the department.

Materials and Methods Common problem areas on consent forms were identified and QI methodology was used to design the study including selection of appropriate outcome, process and balancing measures. Baseline information on completion of: 1) patient details, 2) consultant details, 3) legibility, 4) use of abbreviations in description of operation/complications, and 5) patient signatures was collected. Four weekly interventions were made which were accompanied by four further data collection cycles. A further re-audit took place 4 months following the completion of the project to establish whether improvements had been sustained.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Operative Consent form 1 or Consent form 2 completed within the Royal London Hospital Plastic surgery department within one week of the previous intervention.

Exclusion Criteria:

• All other consent forms

The operative consent form of any adult or paediatric patient consented for an operative procedure within the Royal London Hospital Plastic surgery department within the time frame of the Quality Improvement Project.

No sharing of participant data will take place.