Pre-Operative Assessment Clinic
Head of Department 
Dr. Tom Owens
Introduction
The pre assessment clinic was set up by Dr Tom Owens Consultant anaesthetist in St Vincent’s University Hospital and St Michael’s Hospital Dun Laoghaire. It is a clinic run by Louise Slowey CNM 1.
Contact Details
The clinic is located in St Joseph’s ward, which is on the 2nd floor, Annexe building of St Michael’s Hospital
Pre-operative assessment establishes that the patient is fully informed and wishes to undergo the procedure. It ensures that the patient is as fit as possible for the surgery and anaesthetic. It minimises the risk of late cancellations by ensuring that all essential resources and discharge requirements are identified and co-ordinated.
Its Aims
- It was set up to reduce cancellations and to fully utilize the theatre and improve bed occupancy, establish patient’s fitness for surgery and anesthetic.
- It also identifies patients who need optimization prior to general anaesthetic and surgery.
- It facilitates informed consent and improves safety by assessing and quantifying risk and allaying fear and anxiety.
- It improves patient education by giving verbal and written information leaflets regarding surgery and anaesthetic.
- It enables the identification of any cultural requirements and any communications or special needs the patient may have.
- It assesses the home support available to the patients post discharge and identifies any special requirements to facilitate discharge.
- It reduces the number of patients who fail to attend for surgery.
Further Information
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Pre-operative Assessment Clinic Leaflet |