Zoe Andrews
Introduction
The British Association of Day Surgery / Getting It Right First Time / Centre for Perioperative Care National Day Surgery Delivery Pack states “a process is in place to support patients following discharge and to collect data on patient outcomes”. For many years at The Rotherham Foundation Trust (TRFT), patients were phoned
by the Day Surgery Unit (DSU) nursing staff the day following their surgery. Increases in case load and reduced staff availability meant this became no longer sustainable. In response to this, in October 2024, TRFT DSU introduced a digital post-operative follow-up service.
Methods
A post-operative patient survey was created, consisting of an introduction, nine questions and a closing statement. The topics included pain, nausea and vomiting and overall experience of the pathway. All patients discharged from the DSU (excluding surgical termination of pregnancy cases) are sent a notification
(via the NHS App/SMS) the following morning. Any survey which scores ≥1 triggers an email to an account monitored by DSU nursing staff who then phone the patient.
Results
After introduction in 2024 the digital survey had an 82.0% completion rate with 32.4% of these scoring ≥1 and requiring a phone call. In 2025, these figures improved to 84.6% and 22.6% respectively.
Conclusions
Using a digital follow-up service has resulted in an effective and efficient way of following up day-case patients. It has provided both qualitative and quantitive data that can be presented on a dashboard for stakeholders and clinicians to view and use to drive improvements in care.
Authors
Zoe Andrews, Kim Russon, Sally Atkinson, Tammy Hayward
The Rotherham Foundation Trust, Rotherham, United Kingdom