Aasiya Mannan
Introduction
Pre-anaesthesia assessment clinics (PACs) optimise patients’ medical and psychological readiness for surgery. Traditionally, PACs are conducted via scheduled appointments. At the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, same-day walk-in PACs and telephone assessments were introduced to enhance daysurgery efficiency, reduce surgical delays, and minimise hospital visits.
Methods
Breast surgery patients attending clinics between October–December 2024 (scheduled PACs, n=129) were compared with those attending October–December 2025 (walk-in PACs with telephone reviews when required, n=127). Patients were identified via clinic diaries, and data were collected from electronic
patient records and clinic letters.
Results
Walk-in PACs significantly reduced the referral-to-assessment interval, with 92% of patients assessed on the day of referral. Early assessment enabled prompt identification and optimisation of patient-related barriers, resulting in earlier theatre sign-off and improved care coordination. Post-implementation, 100% of patients experienced no surgical delays compared to previous 97%. Over 90% required no additional hospital visits due to same-day assessments or telephone PACs. The average interval between PAC and surgery increased from 6.45 to 24.65 days, allowing earlier optimisation and preventing delays.
Conclusions
Introduction of same-day PAC services for breast surgery improved day-surgery efficiency, reduced surgical delays, minimised hospital visits, and enhanced patient experience through earlier perioperative optimisation.
Authors
Aasiya Mannan, Yasmin Hassen, Robert Thomas
Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle, United Kingdom