Preoperative Assessment Unit

Area 1 Preoperative Assessment - is located at the bottom of grey/Lilac seating area before ENT clinic area.

Area 7 Preoperative Assessment - is located in on the ground floor as a joint unit with the Urology day unit which is opposite the Day Surgery department.

During recent times we have changed our ways of working and we have different ways of completing your preoperative assessment, we can now do them:

• Via the phone
• Virtually via the attend anywhere system (links on the main trust page)
• Face to face

When you have your consultation with the nurse practitioner please make sure that you have readily available:

• List of your current medications
• Height/weight
• Blood Pressure reading if possible

As this may mean that we do not require you to attend the hospital dependant on the surgery you are having and your other medical conditions.

So if you have a preference when you are booked your preoperative assessment please let the waiting list clerk know so we can try to facilitate this.

Where possible we are trying to reduce the amount of time that you are required to come in hospital for your assessment. You may only need to come into hospital for:

• Bloods
• ECG
• Echo
• Heart and Lung Examination
• CPEX testing

When you are asked to attend the hospital for any of the above you will be advised which of our Preoperative Assessment units to visit.

Our Nurse Practitioners role is to:

• Make professional decisions for which they are accountable
• Make an assessment of patients’ needs based on highly developed skills including skills not usually exercised by nurses
• Screen patients for disease and early illness
• Make diagnosis
• Develop an ongoing nursing care plan
• Order necessary investigations
• Provide counselling and health education
• Work alongside other health care professionals

We also complete CPEx (Cardio Pulmonary Exercise Testing) as part of some of the major abdominal surgeries which is completed by the consultant anaesthetists on twice weekly sessions. If you do require CPEx testing we would arrange for you to attend the hospital 3 days prior to the CPEx to come for COVID-19 swab test as this is considered a clean procedure which you require a negative swab result.

Here is a video of what happens during the CPEx  testing, please note that you will have electrodes placed on you so that we can get heart tracings during the bike testing:

Whilst you are awaiting your surgery you may have low iron which may require an iron transfusion which is carried out at South Shore primary care centre by the IV therapy team.

You may also need to attend our consultant Anaemia clinic to discuss and possibly send you for further investigations to find out why it continues.