A focused effort at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust has seen around 200 hernia patients get treated in just one day, as part of a successful campaign.
The #ImpactHernia campaign started back in May with a one-stop clinic combining outpatient appointments and surgical pre-assessments for the first time. The approach has allowed the Trust to expedite treatment processes for those needing an operation, with preparation for surgery now just taking a few weeks.
From the 27th of June, the Trust ran intense week of surgery, which culminated in carrying out approximately 50 operations, with some more complicated hernia operations surgeries taking place just before and after, meaning the operations totalled around 65.
Veeru Shatkar, General Surgery Lead, said: “We don’t usually do pre-assessment on the same day as an initial appointment in clinic. This was a trial and worked really well.
“We had ten consultants at the one-stop clinic which helped us see so many patients. Some were discharged and those who needed surgery were assessed there and then with most given a date to return for their surgery. We carried out just under 50 hernia operations in one focused week, as well as some more complicated hernia cases just before and after that.
“It was a significant task to bring this together and took a massive effort from the team including admin, pre-assessment, admissions, theatre team, nurses, surgeons, anaesthetists, and managers.”
The innovative approach made a huge dent in Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust’s waiting list and allowed staff to focus on the hernia patients that required more complex operations and procedures.
The #ImpactHernia project is just one of many initiatives that Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust have launched to cut down waiting lists – more information on those initiatives is available here.
More information on this project is available here.
