Endocrine Abstracts

Transitional care has become a high priority for the Department of Health (1). The paediatric and adult endocrinology teams have been running a joint transition service since October 2000. A review of this service was undertaken in order to examine its effectiveness and aid service improvement.

The details of all 81 patients, who had been through transitional care since October 2000, were acquired. Both their electronic records and adult endocrinology notes were reviewed for relevant information. A questionnaire and covering letter were designed and sent to all these patients to survey patient satisfaction and ensure the service was working as expected. The demographics of the transition population including diagnosis, sex and age at transition were recorded. The mean age of transition was 18.6 years. Currently 28 out of 77 (36%) patients have replied to the questionnaire (4 had died). In general patient satisfaction was high. Of the patients, 82% felt that the timing of transition was appropriate, 100% felt it was helpful to meet the adult endocrinologist prior to transfer and 81% felt that they were given enough information about their condition and the transition process. Certain outcomes measures have been associated with successful transition. In the cohort studied; the mortality rate was 4.9%, 3.7% of the patients had been admitted acutely within 2 years of transition and 11.1% had issues with adherance to treatment. The DNA rate at the second adult follow up appointment for our cohort was 15.7% which is significantly higher than that of general adult endocrine clinics (6–10%).

We therefore propose to improve the service by providing written information about the transition process and the conditions affecting our patients, addressing compliance issues and producing a written transition policy.

(1) Transition: getting it right for young people. Department of Health, March 2006.