What to expect prior to your elective procedure

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What to expect prior to your elective procedure

Before you have your elective procedure, you must undergo a Pre-Operative Assessment to ensure you are fit and well for your anaesthetic.

To start the assessment process, it is essential that you to complete an online Health Questionnaire. You will receive a link for this from our supplier ‘Ultramed’ in due course.

Please ensure we have a mobile number or email address recorded for you, so we can send you this link.

Please aim to complete the questionnaire within 48 hours of receiving the link, even if you don’t expect to have your procedure for some time as it is important to begin the Pre-Op Assessment process at the earliest opportunity.

Clicking on your unique link will open your questionnaire. It will ask you to confirm your Date of Birth to continue:

A screen shot showing an example of the date of birth question on the online health questionnaire

You will then be asked to work through each of the sections as shown in the example to the right.

You must complete all these sections.

When you are happy with all your answers, please submit them to the team by clicking on the Submit your answers button.

You will know it has been submitted as the system will let you know it has been sent successfully:

A screen shot showing an example of the Thank you! Assessment received message in on the online health questionnaire

Unable to complete the questionnaire?

We would ask that every effort is made to try and complete the questionnaire yourself or with the assistance of a friend or relative, but we understand that this is not always possible. The system will notify the service when a questionnaire has not been completed, and we will contact you to see how we may support you to do this in due course. Please ensure we have a valid contact number recorded which we can contact you on.

A screen shot showing an example of the question sections on the online health questionnaire. One is completed. One is in progress. Others are not started.

What happens next

After you have submitted your questionnaire, an assessing nurse will review your answers and may request an appointment with the team to discuss them with you.

Every 3 months (until you are given a procedure date) the system will automatically contact you to make sure your assessment is still up to date and accurate. It is important that you respond to these ‘Check in’ messages to keep your assessment valid.

If your symptoms or condition worsens, or if you are concerned about anything, please call your GP, 111, or 999.

Patient Experience
We know that being admitted to hospital can be a difficult and unsettling time for you and your loved ones. If you have any questions or concerns, please do speak with a member of staff on the ward or in the relevant department who will do their best to answer your questions and reassure you. 

Feedback
Feedback is really important and useful to us – it can tell us where we are working well and where improvements can be made. There are lots of ways you can share your experience with us including completing our Friends and Family Test – cards are available and can be posted on all wards, departments and clinics at our hospitals. We value your comments and feedback and thank you for taking the time to share this with us.

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
If you have any concerns or questions about your care, we advise you to talk with the nurse in charge or the department manager in the first instance as they are best placed to answer any questions or resolve concerns quickly. If the relevant member of staff is unable to help resolve your concern, you can contact the PALS Team. We offer informal help, advice or support about any aspect of hospital services & experiences.

Our PALS team will liaise with the various departments in our hospitals on your behalf, if you feel unable to do so, to resolve your problems and where appropriate refer to outside help.

If you are still unhappy you can contact the Complaints Department, who can investigate your concerns. You can make a complaint orally, electronically or in writing and we can advise and guide you through the complaints procedure.

How to contact PALS:
Telephone Patient Services: 0300 123 1732 or via email at: [email protected]

Opening times:
The PALS telephone lines are open Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 4.00pm. Please be aware that you may need to leave a voicemail message, but we aim to return your call within one working day.

If you are unable to understand this leaflet, please communicate with a member of staff.

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