About Day Surgery

What is day surgery?

Many patients can now come into hospital- have their operation, and go home on the same day.

Back at home they are looked after by relatives or friends, supported by the community healthcare team.

Is it safe?

Advances in anaesthetics and improvements in surgical techniques, make day surgery as safe as staying in hospital.

Many thousands of operations have been carried out successfully in this way over the past twenty years.

What are the advantages for me?

Most operations can be carried out sooner and are much less likely to be cancelled if you are able to have day surgery.

Many people like to spend as little time in hospital as possible and prefer to be at home with their family or friends.

There is less disruption to your daily routine, childcare is easier to plan and very often you will be back at work sooner.

Could I be a day surgery patient?

It depends what operation you need. An ever increasing number of surgical procedures can be carried out on a day-stay basis, including; grommets in children, hernia operations, minor gynaecology, joint surgery, cataracts, and many others.

Not everyone is fit enough for day surgery. Careful assessment of your general health is made before booking you for a day-stay operation.

Normally you need to live within an hour's drive of the hospital. At home you need access to a telephone and convenient toilet facilities and you must be registered with a family doctor.

What happens after day surgery?

You will not be allowed home unless it is completely safe for you to leave the hospital the same day. A very small number of people have to stay overnight for unforeseen reasons, but this only happens to about 3 in every hundred patients.

You would normally be expected to arrange for someone to drive you home. You will be given advice about when you can start to drive after your operation. Normally you should not drive yourself for two days after any procedure performed under sedation or general anaesthesia.

What would I need at home?

It still takes some days to get over certain operations, just as it would if you stayed in hospital. You and your carer (a relative or friend) will be given advice about what to do at home during this time. It might mean that your carer will need a day or two off work in order to look after you at home.

IF you have any worries once you are at home, help and advice will be only a telephone call away. You will be given a telephone number to use in case you need it. Your family doctor will be told about your operation and further support will be available if required.

For a leaflet with this information please follow this link