November 2001

Brief Description of Changes
Key performance measures are being collected and fed back to clinical areas for discussion
and corrective action. This is resulting in the tightening of
compliance to the policy on consents, and review of theatre
starting times.
Trial of redesigned preadmission process has commenced.
Issues, Successes, Achievements
Since last Measuring template.
Trial on Orthopaedic patients has been in operation for 3 weeks
2 patients have completed the full process, attending pre-admission and been operated on.
Early measurable results have been very rewarding.
o 10 patients have been assessed by the preadmission service.
o 5 late cancellations have been prevented.
(Statistically the Preadmission Service trial has seen approximately 3% of
total patients admitted for the month and reduced preventable
cancellations by approximately 11%.) Data quality will improve as more
patients are seen through the new process.
o Patients bought forward to fill cancellations have been prepared in
adequate time adding greatly to patient satisfaction and assisting in
improved theatre utilisation.
o Patients expectations on time required to attend the Preadmission
Service were satisfied with all patients being seen within the allotted
time frame.
o The median time frame in August from admission to ready for theatre
was 176 minutes. Our first 2 patients were comfortably admitted and
ready for theatre in 30 minutes.
o Improved discharge planning. With three direct referrals to Post Acute
Care and one to ACAT from Preadmission. (Discharge planning had
previously commenced on the ward at time of admission)
o Ward staff time required to admit the patient on the ward was reduced
from an average of 30 minutes to 10 minutes.
o Early feedback from staff has been very positive.