MyPreOp for surgical pre-assessment was launched at Walsall Healthcare on 1 February and just a few weeks on, patient feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

Following the decision to list for surgery, patients are given a card which explains how to use MyPreOp in order to complete their pre-assessment questionnaire at home.

This questionnaire is transferred to a clinical portal for review by pre-assessment staff, and patients may then be contacted for a follow-up conversation. Once completed, the assessment will be available on the ‘Clinical Viewer’ within the patient’s record on Bluespier – theatres’ clinical information system.

Earlier this month our first patient followed this process from start to finish successfully and has now been placed on the relevant waiting list much sooner than we would have been able to previously. This is a huge success!

Patient feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive and the approach has been very well received. Any patients who express concerns will be supported by a member of staff in the hospital, or if they wish they can ask a friend/relative at home to help them access the questionnaire. Part of the questionnaire includes a patient satisfaction survey and we will respond in a timely way to ensure effective patient engagement.

Here’s what some of our key leaders for this project had to say:

• “Thank you to all colleagues who have worked tirelessly to make this a successful go-live. We hope that patients and colleagues from all areas continue to see many the benefits of MyPreOp.” – Project Manager and TACC Information System Team Leader, Richard Shinn

• “Patients completing pre-operative assessment on-line remotely, instead of the traditional face to face hospital pre-assessment, is an exciting  pre-assessment service improvement development here at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust.” – Matron Joan Dyer

• “MyPreOp is a fantastic development for the trust, but most importantly for our patients. During these uncertain times, we are able to support patients staying at home without delaying their care here at the hospital. Limiting patients’ need to travel and requirement to be on site, benefiting the patient and our trust, as we continue to protect against Covid-19.” – Samir Nazir, Consultant Anaesthetist and Lead for Pre-Operative Assessment

MyPreOp is just one step in the Digital Journey to improve patient experience; we are also exploring other opportunities with our external partner, Ultramed, to implement more software which will improve patient and colleague experience. This includes MyPreOpKids, MyLA and MyEndoscopy.

It is an incredibly exciting journey for the team and we will share any updates regarding next steps at the earliest opportunity.