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Perhaps a pre-op consultation could be implemented?

Posted By POPPY@71

"Perhaps a pre-op consultation could be implemented?"

About: Altnagelvin Area Hospital / Day Case unit

(as the patient),

I'm now over 3 months post a Trapeziectomy on my left thumb, and currently wondering if my hand will ever get back to normal, or as normal as can be, or did I even make a mistake having the surgery. Emotionally and physically it's been a tough 3 months for which i don't see an end at the moment. I didn't realise I would be so dependent on people for this long nor that the pain and discomfort would be so bad, especially for the first few weeks after the surgery.

I have to say though that Roisin,  my hand therapist, has been brilliant. Explaining things to me about the surgery and also recovery. My weekly visits to her are what's keeping focused on my recovery. I honestly feel that had I spoken to Roisin or one of the hand therapist prior to my surgery, my expectations for the surgery and recovery would have been very different and I would have been better prepared. It's not been fair on my employer either who thought I would have been back at work by now, as did i.  Perhaps a pre-op consultation with patients before this kind of surgery might be something that the hospital should consider implementing?

Thank you for reading. 

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Responses

Response from Marie O'Reilly, Orthopedic Theatre Sister, Day Case Unit Altnagelvin, western trust 4 months ago
Marie O'Reilly
Orthopedic Theatre Sister, Day Case Unit Altnagelvin,
western trust

Coordinate the smooth running of orthopaedic surgical lists in a busy Day case Unit delegating staff to ensure the care given to patients is of the highest possible standards.

Submitted on 05/02/2025 at 15:22
Published on Care Opinion at 15:32

Hi Poppy@71, I am sorry to hear that you are suffering discomfort from your surgery.

I can only imagine how you must feel. Having your independence and to be back at your work is very important emotionally as well as physically. I can only advise you to contact your consultants secretary to arrange a telephone review or face to face as I know the consultants take their patients progress very serious as they are very passionate at what they do.

I Do know that when gaining informed consent from patient's for their surgery the nature of the surgery as well as what can be expected is supposed to be explained in detail before a consent is signed. I will feed back to the team your proposal of which is an excellent idea as we hope to ensure the highest standards of care is given. We have been trying to get a pre op discussion with patients regarding their proposed surgery by telephone to answer any questions, that is what the surgeons were hoping to do, however this has not got up and running due to limitations of resources and lengthy waiting lists.

We value your feedback and thank you kindly for taking the time to inform us of your experience. This is the only way we can make our service better. I hope you get some comfort from this,

regards

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