Audit of general practitioner referrals to a surgical assessment unit: new methods to improve the efficacy of the acute surgical service.

A total of 653 referrals from general practitioners to an acute surgical service were audited prospectively over a period of 4 months. Middle-grade staff accepting these referrals were able to deal with 182 (27.9 per cent) of these cells without surgical admission. A further 189 (28.9 per cent) referrals were seen on a surgical assessment unit and were not admitted to a surgical ward. The resultant cost saving was approximately 10,000 pounds. This confirms that the ready provision of an experienced surgical opinion in combination with early assessment can reduce the number of unnecessary acute surgical admissions referred from general practitioners.