Trent Occupational Medicine Audit Group

Trent Occupational Medicine (TOM) organises CPD meetings and training for Occupational Physicians in the East Midlands Region. An offshoot of this is the TOM Audit Group, which has been meeting on a quarterly basis for over 10 years, now led by Dr Sam Farmer. The Group provides an opportunity for Occupational Physicians to take part in clinical audit, which may otherwise be difficult for those who work independently, part-time or in smaller organisations.

We audit consultations relating to various subjects (eg back pain, mental health problems etc.) over an 18 month cycle of meetings. Prior to each meeting, the group members submit randomly selected, photocopied and anonymised case notes from 3 recent consultations relating to the chosen subject for the audit. Individual audit results are then provided back to the group members, along with copies of the overall group results for comparison. We then discuss the audit topic and the group results at the quarterly meeting. There is no naming, shaming or other ritual humiliation!

The meetings are informal, last about 2 hours and have taken place 3-monthly on Friday afternoons in the seminar room of the OH Department at the City Hospital, Nottingham (though latterly they have been virtual meetings). At each meeting we also usually have case presentations by group members and a short clinical update on some topic by a local hospital Specialist Registrar or Consultant.

There is sometimes a charge for attending. However, there is no obligation to attend all the meetings and most members do seem to be able to claim the fee from their employers, or at least against tax.

Anyone interested should contact Dr Farmer at samfarmer@genesisoh.co.uk