The Eurocleft Project 1996-2000: overview

Introduction: The original Eurocleft project, a European intercentre compar ison study, revealed dramatic differences in outcome, which were a powerful stimulus for improvement in the services of respective teams. The study de veloped a preliminary methodology to compare practices and the potential fo r wider European collaboration including opportunities for the promotion of clinical trials and intercentre comparison was recognized by the European Commission. Therefore, the project:'Standards of Care for Cleft Lip and Pal ate in Europe: Eurocleft' ran between 1996 and 2000 and aimed to promote a broad uplift in the quality of care and research in the area of cleft lip a nd palate. Results: The results of the 1996-2000 project include: a register of services in Europe, with details of professionals and teams i nvolved in cleft care, service organization, clinical protocols and special facilities for research; a set of common Policy Statements governing clinical practice for European cleft teams, Practice Guidelines describing minimum recommendations for car e that all European children with clefts should be entitled to and recommen dations for Documentation governing minimum records that cleft teams should maintain; encouraging initial efforts to compare outcomes (results) of care between c entres, A survey showed a wide diversity in models of care and national pol icies as well as clinical practices in Europe. Of the 201 centres that regi stered with the network, the survey showed 194 different protocols being fo llowed for only unilateral clefts. Conclusion: Cleft services, treatment an d research have undoubtedly suffered from haphazard development across Euro pe. Attainment of even minimum standards of care remains a major challenge in some communities and both the will to reform and a basic strategy to fol low are overdue. It is hoped that the Eurocleft Consensus Recommendations r eached during the present project will assist in improving the opportunitie s for tomorrow's patients. It is also hoped that the collaborative research now beginning under the European Commission's Framework V Programme will p rovide a focus for European researchers wishing to improve understanding, t reatment and prevention of clefts of the lip, alveolus and palate in the ye ars ahead. (C) 2001 European Association for Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery.