Patient Perceptions of Day Surgery

Abstract

Having an operation is always a cause for some anxiety, and probably fear for most people. Being told that you don't need to stay in hospital, and that your surgery can be done as a day case with no need for even a one night stay would probably be a comfort. The thought that it will be all over on one day, and that you can go home to your own bed, makes the prospect less daunting. Indeed research has shown that patients prefer day surgery for these and other reasons. Because day surgery means more patients treated at less cost than inpatient surgery, the Government is encouraging the expansion of day surgery services and Trusts are responding. Treating more patients more quickly has got to be good news for the many thousands of patients on waiting lists, but having your operation as a day case should not mean production line treatment. Caring for the personal and meeting individual needs is equally applicable to day case patients as it is to inpatients. This study presents an exploration of some of the actual and potential problems which need to be addressed if day surgery is to become part of the ‘first class service’ the Government has promised.