Pre-Operative Assessment Progress

Improving patient experience and patient outcomes is a key priority on our Getting to Good improvement journey.

This is particularly important for patients waiting for an operation. Any operation or surgical procedure involves a series of stages, including the patient’s pre-operative assessment.

Pre-operative assessments determine whether a patient is well enough to undergo their surgery and the staff play an important role in helping to reduce any worries the patient might have.

Our colleagues in the department have been working hard to improve the service in recent months, trialling the introduction of a onestop triage process. Patients are seen for preassessment on the same day as seeing the consultant and being listed for surgery.

This is benefitting both our patients and our staff. The patient spends less time waiting to be seen resulting in timely optimisation, travelling to and from the hospital is reduced, and our colleagues can work more efficiently. Where a patient has particular needs, we will adopt a tailored approach to meet their needs.

Rachael Bollands, Pre-assessment Manager, said: “I am so proud of the team and the progress we are making together. We are embracing new ways of working and really seeing the benefits.

“All of this comes at an exciting time, with the Trust having secured £24million government funding for a planned care hub at Princess Royal Hospital.

“If you would like to learn more about what we’re doing, please do drop by the department and we would be delighted to chat with you.”

“We are hoping to trial a pre-habilitation surgery school for our patients and we are collaborating more closely with our colleagues, having set up an annual study day alongside pre-operative anaesthetists to refresh our knowledge and uphold revalidation requirements."

Rachael Bollands, Pre-assessment Manager