Educational Series: Perioperative Medicine Part 3

PERIOPERATIVE MEDICINE SERIES: PART 3

| Natalie Silvey |

In this January 2023 edition of the DAS E-Zine, we are proud to present the final part of our three part perioperative medicine series focusing on service development.

In our introduction to the series we outlined how perioperative medicine has been a key focus of opportunities for better health and care in the COVID-19 era and beyond and this reaches far beyond the operative care we provide.

The series kicked off with an introduction to perioperative medicine, the impact of NELA and shared decision making. Our second part looked in detail at frailty, CPET and risk assessment.

Setting up a new service or enhancing an existing one can seem like a daunting process and one we are generally not used to as clinicians. I learnt this first hand during my time as an innovation fellow helping to set up a new frailty service over winter in a short time frame. We managed it but it was a humbling experience and one that has stuck with me.

What lessons can be learnt from those who have been through this journey? Just as in a challenging clinical situation we wouldn’t hesitate to call a colleague for support, we should look at hospitals and areas where it has been done already and learn from this. In this final part of our series we have two fantastic articles on service development. The first focuses on the NHS Elect POPS Network, a network promoting the rollout of geriatrician-led, multidisciplinary perioperative care for older patient. The second looks at the experience at UCLH of establishing a prehabilitation service.

Both articles give invaluable insights from clinicians who have been through this journey and are full of wisdom and food for thought for anyone contemplating developing such a service.

As this series ends a huge thank you to all of those who have contributed to it. One of the joys of developing and editing the ezine is the enthusiasm shown by so many to contribute and the incredible articles that are submitted. I have learnt a huge amount and have no doubt that these are articles I will return to read time and time again.

But where do we go next? Please do contact us @dastrainees or email ezine@das.uk.com if you have any suggestions for our next educational series.

We hope very much that you enjoy reading and learning from these fantastic resources as much as we have.