• Aqeel Alameer, Amira Mohammed, ElwahabSami AbdSABreast Clinic, Beaumont Hospital, Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin, Ireland., Michael Boland, Amr Elfadul, Tej Tiwary, Colm Power, Michael Allen, Abeeda Butt, and Arnold Hill.
• Department of Surgery, Beaumont Hospital, Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin, Ireland. aqeelalameer@rcsi.com.
• Ir J Med Sci. 2022 Apr 1; 191 (2): 637639637-639.

ObjectiveThe General Medical Council (GMC) and Irish Medical Council (IMC) recommend the presence of a chaperone for all intimate examinations and that it should be clearly documented. The aim of this report is to assess doctors' compliance with obtaining a chaperone and documenting their presence, determining possible causes of non-compliance and implement interventions to increase compliance.MethodsProspective audit of patients seen in the breast clinic in Beaumont hospital over the week starting 8th February 2021. The medical charts were reviewed for documentation of chaperone presence. Doctors were surveyed using (SurveyMonkey) for causes of non-compliance. Interventions included a stamp in the medical notes for chaperone presence and details, an educational email with GMC and IMC guidelines, and posters put up in clinic rooms. The intervention was reassessed at 1-week and 6-week intervals.ResultsIn the assessment phase, 126 patients were recruited. A chaperone was present 100% of the time where a male doctor examined a female patient; however, chaperone presence was not documented in any of the medical charts (0/126). A survey was sent to 22 breast surgery doctors to explore causes of non-compliance. Response rate was 95%, 50% did not know documentation was necessary, and 25% forgot to document. One week after intervention, 64 patients were recruited. Chaperone documentation increased to 80% (51/64). Reassessment at six weeks included 120 patients, and chaperone documentation rate was 74% (89/120).© 2021. The Author(s).

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