Day case surgery from the wards or a dedicated unit – do the same standards apply?

Abstract

Purpose

Day surgery is now a major element of surgical practice. The paper aims to examine if those patients undergoing day surgery from in‐patient wards receive the same standard of care as those attending a formal day case surgical unit (DCSU), which is important.

Design/methodology/approach

Two cohorts of 50 consecutive patients undergoing day surgery either on an in‐patient ward or in the DCSU were asked about the pre‐operative checks that had been made in relation to their safe discharge.

Findings

Confirmation by in‐patient ward staff of safety issues outlined in guidelines published by the Royal College of Surgeons of England was variable. Of particular concern was that at least two of the recommendations relate to important safety issues such as driving a motor vehicle.

Originality/value

This paper is of use because ensuring that patients fulfil the Royal College's guidelines for day case surgery is important, no matter what surgery the patient undergoes. Patient safety may be compromised by failing to verify that patients are being discharged into a safe environment.

Citation

Cosker, T.D.A., Elsayed, S., Michael, P. and Preece, M. (2005), "Day case surgery from the wards or a dedicated unit – do the same standards apply?", Clinical Governance: An International Journal, Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 196-199. https://doi.org/10.1108/14777270510612820