To ask anyone in the NHS how day surgery lists are determined?

[ScuderiaSedici]

As above

Way too many moving parts here.

for one surgery I was second on the list but behind a cancer patient who took 6 hours so didn’t go down until 3pm.

for another surgery I was second on the list, no idea how it was decided.

first on another.

i have zero health issues (aside from my surgery requirements) was a simple case for all 3.

Well having just read your posts about how important you are OP above all others I strongly suggest next time you go private 😒

If you’re ready to go home, then just let the nurses know. They have probably already rung your mum if that’s who you originally asked to pick you up.

They haven’t, I asked if I could text her and they said not yet

I can't speak for day surgery discharge but when my son was discharged, it did take a long time. Discharge letter, medications, dealing with other patients etc.

You need to be patient and remember that they will be caring for other people as well, maybe some who do actually need help with the toilet etc.

Depends very much on the patient and the case and as we don’t know much about either we can’t say whether it’s normal or not.

Just do it. You clearly have your phone if you’re posting on Mumsnet - you don’t need their permission to text your mum. Maybe she can come and help you advocate for yourself.

I meant text to come and pick me up.

Anaesthetic drugs can make you over emotional OP, plus you’ve been very anxious for a while so it’s probably a mixture of both the chemicals and the relief it’s over.

Glad it's all over and you weren't hanging around all day. You said you were running out of water earlier - did they let you have little sips beforehand?

This was my experience too. I’ve been in and out of hospital most of my life thanks to congenital disability. I remember the earlier anaesthetics which took ages to take effect and made you feel ill for a long time after. They’re so much better now. I hadn’t had surgery for a few years until a mastectomy last December as a day case. I was really surprised by how far anaesthetics have come. Out instantly and awake instantly, and no sickness, thank goodness. Quite surprised by the advances in pain management too. I would never have thought mastectomy could be done as a day case - my mum had breast cancer too and spent two weeks in hospital after hers. I was at the hospital at 7am, in surgery by 8am and home by 4pm, and despite major surgery there was no pain due to the pain blockers inserted during the operation. Checked on every day by the clinic nurses and recovered well. We’ve come so far.

OP have you peed ? Have you eaten and had something to drink ? Are you moving around OK ? If so, ask what the protocols are for sending you home. My last day surgery I had to wait for one of the surgical team to OK my discharge, but it wasn’t long, as they did rounds between surgeries. Having said that it was major surgery so maybe that’s a bit different. Either way you’ll be home soon because they don’t keep you any longer than they have to. Pleased it’s all over and done with. How do you feel ?

I cried loads after one anaesthetic, can't recall which, but the next time I mentioned it and they said it didn't happen as much now due to changes in the formula.

But generally feeling emotional is normal.

And the healthcare professionals know best when to let you go home.

Probably would have been just enough to take whatever meds were needed - OP mentioned that she had paracetamol and omeprazole. They only give you a small amount of liquid at that point.

OP try to relax. You’ve been stressed out for a while about all of this and now it’s over you need to give yourself a break. The medical staff are best placed to know when it’s appropriate for you to go home, so don’t stress that - they won’t keep you a moment longer than they need to because they know you recover better at home than in hospital. If you’re thinking of discharging yourself, don’t !! It’s the worst thing you can do at this stage because it goes on your record and messes up the communication between the hospital and your GP - who you’ll probably need for monitoring during your recovery. Be patient. You’ve done the hard part - the rest is plain sailing.

You probably need to be discharged by a doctor/surgeon, who may well have other patients they are treating, then need meds dispensing. Just be patient, there is no rush. Snooze or distract yourself. You could call your mum if she can come and keep you company while you wait and you would find it helpful.

Have a small snack just before the time you are told to start fasting.
Its not difficult to be a little flexible in these circumstances.

I’m in the car on the way home, finally

I had quite a bit in the end! Woke up dying for a wee

I was also pleasantly surprised about how well my son's pain was managed. He was an inpatient for all of his surgeries and the pain team were around every day asking about his pain and if he needed to go up or down on any pain meds he was on.

When he had his last surgery in November, his first planned surgery, they made a plan about pain relief before the surgery and decided to give him an epidural to be absolutely certain he was as pain free as possible. He was also given morphine during the actual surgery and it turned out the epidural probably wasn't necessary so they took it out faster than expected because he was coping really well.

They also had him on anti sickness meds if he even felt slightly sick to reassure him that he wouldn't be sick. They were wonderful with managing things like that for him.

That's not true at all.

I was scheduled for day surgery at midday, but some emergency cropped up and I didn't get my op done until well after 4pm. They were really apologetic about it.

It was after 7 when I left the hospital. The poor surgeon was still there, and he'd been at the hospital since 7 am, and operating since 8.

I went first due to a latex allergy as it meant they could clean the room during the night and avoid anything latex until all the allergy cases are over to avoid cross contamination.

There will be lots of reasons people end up higher up, so if you are just a bog standard simple case you will probably be waiting a while.

There are lots of reasons a list order is determined as it is and the order is normally decided after each patient has been checked in and seen by the surgeon and anaesthetist. It could be a child or a diabetic first due to blood sugars. The types of operations on the list also factor in (and the need for specialist equipment/staff for particular cases). General anaesthetics also tend to go first rather than local anaesthetics in the case of day surgery to allow the longer recovery time. So many variables really. If its a list where all the surgeries are the same operation, unless it's medical need, then it's the order you were added to the list normally.

Glad its all over now and you can get home and rest

That wasn't too long to wait