East Lancashire health and lifestyle survey from the NHS.

[mobertol]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

You are welcome.
I ran a pre-op clinic once a week, and we did all these questions at that visit - which was a week to 10 days before the patient was due to be admitted.

This gave us a good amount of time to identify potential problems that might delay discharge, and put interventions into place(sometimes these were organised before the patient had even been admitted).
At the pre-op clinic, patients were told when they would come in, and when they would go home(barring any problems of course). Helpful to both patient and the staff. We were able to maximise the use of our beds in this way.

Originally Posted by susie123

That is all so obvious and common sense when you think about it.

I Agree, Sue. That's what they do here too - husband has been in for a couple of minor Ops. and they were very well prepared in just the same way.

All these extra surveys are keeping people employed - though the money would be better spent on real jobs and/or equipment within the health service.

[MargaretR]

I have looked at the link and it seems that the survey I was asked to complete has been formulated using those guidelines.

My problem with such surveys is that they infer that anyone eating copious amounts of saturated fats and not eating '5 a day' is injuring their health.

I strongly disagree with the 'healthy diet' guidelines we are bombarded with, so my answers to diet questions would be interpreted as 'unhealthy'. I object to my diet being so classified by use of flawed nutrition research.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I hated doing the pre-op clinic, but the benefits(for both the patient and staff) were hard to dismiss....we had fewer ops cancelled because of medical complications, and if people did not come to the pre-op visit, then we would replace them with someone who was on the'able to come in at short notice list'.
Myself and my staff would review test results and check through the casenotes a couple of days after the pre-op visit.....just to double check there were to be no hiccups on the day of admission.....pre-op clinic often meant that ladies who were on an afternoon list need not come into hospital until midday on the day of their operation.
By the time I retired, I had changed and quite enjoyed the challenge that the long day in clinic invariably provided.

[shillelagh]

ive had the experience the last few weeks of nhs in various forms .... the minor injuries units at accy vic and at the rawtenstall hub, blackburn royal and the scottish nhs ... in fact i know how much you knock a & e at blackburn ... but after my experience up there be grateful we have the minor injuries units to go to if we have a knock or need some stitches ... cos up there they dont have them ... you end up at a & e .. and it only takes an hour on a bus to get there .... 4 hrs in there getting the cast changed and an hour back on the bus ...

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

These questions that the Sister asked you were important, in that they allow for discharge planning. The staff need to identify possible social/problems in the home early, in order to alert social/homecare services, so that your dischrage home is not delayed by the late identification of situations that would make it unsafe to send you home.
This is done on admission because patients are having much shorter stays in hospital.

This only started 3 years ago Margaret, and why a sister or staff nurse, why not the ward aid, isn't that what they're for.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Maybe the ward aide was doing the questions for someone else who had been admitted.
Nurses do have a lot of paperwork to complete....and sometimes the questions are better interpreted by a nurse than a ward clerk.