Clinical

Developing a clinic to meet patients’ pre-operative needs

<p>This article describes a practice development project at a gynaecological oncology centre aimed at improving patient experience before admission for major pelvic surgery. Two full-time clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) were involved and the project was supported by a pre-assessment nurse. Centre staff saw 500 patient referrals with a suspected gynaecological malignancy each year. The CNS team thought that, due to the service design, some patients had too little time with a CNS, so a clinic was established to support patients’ care needs; evaluation indicates that the clinic gives patients an opportunity to discuss their pre-operative supportive care needs and enables post-operative care planning. It is now well established and an integral part of the patient pathway.</p>

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