A survey of UK peri-operative medicine: pre-operative care

Abstract

The majority of UK hospitals now have a Local Lead for Peri-operative Medicine (n = 115). They were asked to take part in an online survey to identify provision and practice of pre-operative assessment and optimisation in the UK. We received 86 completed questionnaires (response rate 75%). Our results demonstrate strengths in provision of shared decision-making clinics. Fifty-seven (65%, 95%CI 55.8–75.4%) had clinics for high-risk surgical patients. However, 80 (93%, 70.2–87.2%) expressed a desire for support and training in shared decision-making. We asked about management of pre-operative anaemia, and identified that 69 (80%, 71.5–88.1%) had a screening process for anaemia, with 72% and 68% having access to oral and intravenous iron therapy, respectively. A need for peri-operative support in managing frailty and cognitive impairment was identified, as few (24%, 6.5–34.5%) respondents indicated that they had access to specific interventions. Respondents were asked to rank their ‘top five’ priority topics in Peri-operative Medicine from a list of 22. These were: shared decision-making; peri-operative team development; frailty screening and its management; postoperative morbidity prediction; and primary care collaboration. We found variation in practice across the UK, and propose to further explore this variation by examining barriers and facilitators to improvement, and highlighting examples of good practice.