Pre-assessment for surgery
Visitor Information
Translation help:
To translate this page into your preferred language, click the Google Translate icon in the top-right menu and select your desired language.
Our pre-assessment for surgery service assesses the general health of patients who have been referred for surgery.
Following your recent outpatient appointment, the clinician has made a decision for you to have an operation and it is therefore necessary for you to attend a nurse-led pre-operative assessment clinic before the operation. This is the next step in your care pathway. If you have more complex medical issues, an anaesthetist may also see you, although not necessarily on the same day. The purpose of the appointment is to assess your general health through a brief discussion of your health as well as a series of tests before you have an anaesthetic and undergo surgery. This service reduces the number of operations that are cancelled on the day due to unforeseen problems.
Currently, this centralised pre-operative assessment service assesses patients from the following specialities:
- ear, nose and throat (ENT)
- general surgery
- vascular surgery (doctor-led appointments at St Mary's only)
- urology
- gynaecology (doctor-led appointments are held at St Mary's only)
- ophthalmology (held at Charing Cross only)
- breast services
- plastic and reconstructive surgery
- trauma services
- orthopaedics
- interventional radiology (for neurology and hepatobiliary medicine)
Other specialties offer a separate pre-operative assessment service to patients within their own departments.
Clinics
This service provides both a walk-in and pre-booked service. Walk-in patients are only referred from outpatients, not from GPs. Booked appointments are made by the waiting list office after the surgeon makes the decison to operate, a decision which is made during the patient's specialty outpatient appointment.
Pre-assessment for surgery at Charing Cross Hospital
Address
Pre-operative assessment clinic
Sixth floor
West wing
Charing Cross Hospital
Fulham Palace Road
London W6 8RF
Hours
09.00 through 18.00, Monday through Friday
Contact information
Phone (waiting list office – for questions about appointments): 020 3311 6611
Phone (for clinical enquiries): 020 3313 4455
Pre-assessment for surgery at St Mary’s Hospital
Address
Pre-operative assessment clinic
First floor
Mint wing
St Mary's Hospital
Praed Street
London W2 1NY
Please note: The Mint wing is accessible via South Wharf Road.
Hours
09.00 through 18.00, Monday through Friday
Contact information
Phone (waiting list office – for questions about appointments): 020 3311 6611
Phone (for clinical enquiries): 020 3312 1047
Meet the team
St Mary's Hospital
Consultant anaesthetists
Peter Williamson
Asela Dharmadasa
Sarah McNeilly
Charing Cross Hospital
Consultant anaesthetists
Fiona Porter
Shona Love
Ian Barker
Lynda Dawson
Lead nurse
Helen Evbuomwan
Clinical nurse manager
Janet Hancock
Patient information
Before your appointment
One to five working days following the outpatient appointment where the decision was made to list you for a procedure, we will call you to schedule your pre-operative assessment appointment. If you have not received a call from us within five working days, please call the waiting list office (020 3311 6611). Alternatively, this could be a walk-in appointment, and you may be sent to the pre-assessment clinic on the same day as the appointment at which your clinician confirms that you will be listed for surgery.
You are welcome to bring one relative, close friend or carer with you to your appointment. You are welcome to ask for a chaperone and we will endeavour to provide one for you, but we cannot guarantee that we will have a chaperone available. We would advise that patients wear either loose clothing or clothing than can be removed easily, as this will make it easier to carry out certain tests such as measuring your blood pressure or your heart rate.
Whether you attend for a walk-in appointment or a pre-booked appointment, it would be very helpful if you could bring:
- Your appointment letter, if you have one
- A list of all medications you currently take, including their strength and how often you take them
- If you have any health conditions, please bring any letters or test results related to that condition
- Any updates regarding your contact details or those of your next of kin
During your appointment
Please note that we are a teaching hospital, so medical students may be present for some appointments. If you do not wish to have them in the room please let the nurse know and the students will be asked to step outside.
Pre-booked appointments usually take 30 to 45 minutes. The pre-assessment nurse will ask you a number of questions related to your general health and wellbeing. You may wish to bring someone with you to your appointment if you think this will be helpful to you. Following the successful completion of your appointment, you will be given information about:
- Fasting instructions (as applicable)
- Medication advice
- What to expect on the day of admission
- A guidance information sheet specific to your procedure (where possible)
Walk-in appointments take less time – usually 15 to 30 minutes. You will be asked to complete a simple health screening questionnaire when you first arrive in the clinic. If you have any problems completing the questionnaire you can ask a family member if present to help you, or the nursing staff in clinic. Following your appointment, you will be given the same information listed above.
As part of your assessment, you will also undergo some or all of the following tests or investigations as applicable:
- Recording of your height and weight
- Blood pressure/heart rate/respiration/oxygen saturation level
- Blood tests
- An ECG (electrocardiogram) – which is a way of recording the rate, rhythm and electrical activity of your heart
- MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus) and CRE (carbapenemase-producing enterobacteriaceae) screening
On occasion, some tests take place in another department and very occasionally, on a separate day to your appointment.
After your appointment
Once all tests have been completed and you have received all relevant information you require, you will be able to leave. The nursing staff will check the results and if there is anything they need to discuss with you, they will contact you directly. You may need to return to the clinic for a second appointment if you have more complex health issues and need to be seen by an anaesthetist.
Education
We offer elective placements for medical students and operating department practitioners (OPDs). If you are interested, contact your placement coordinator for the Trust, or call Helen Evbuomwan (lead nurse) at 020 3313 4455 or Janet Hancock (clinical nurse manager) at 020 3312 1047.
Your inpatient stay Your stay in hospital
You may need to stay at one of our hospitals to have a procedure or receive treatment, either overnight as an inpatient or during the day as a day patient. Ahead of your inpatient stay, you will usually need to attend a pre-operative assessment appointment.
Find out more about how you can reschedule or cancel your inpatient stay, pre-operative assessments, what to bring with you when you come to hospital and much more.