All Over night in patients will be admitted to the SAPU, we are open 6am-6pm. We do not have any beds, we have 12 assessment rooms, two waiting areas and the Procedure room for Chronic pain interventions.
Patients will be directed to the waiting area and will remain there until called through to a dedicated consulting room where, a member of their relevant surgical team and/or Consultant will check and review the patient and obtain finalised informed consent for surgery, an Anaesthetist will review the patient’s fitness for the planned treatment/surgery.
A Nurse will complete the admissions documentation, screening results and relevant risk assessments including infection-risk status prior to surgery.
All Patients who come to SAPU on the day of their surgery will wait on the unit to go to theatre from the department (exclusions do apply).
When the theatre team are ready to begin surgery a member of the team will walk or transfer the patient in a wheelchair to the anaesthetic room along with the patients care documents.
Patient property remains in a secure locker in the lounge until their bed becomes available; this is then transferred to the ward, and documented in our property book
After surgery the patient will be transferred to their allocated ward or ITU/HDU if required
The patients will be directed to the waiting area and remain there if they are having an infusion or application of a patch. Patients having injections will be taken to a room prior to their intervention to change for their procedure.
A member of the pain team (including their CNS) will review the patient fitness for the procedure, screening results, infection risk status and obtain finalized informed consent for pain procedure
A Nurse will complete the admissions documentation and relevant risk assessments prior to the procedure.
The procedure will start if infusion or capsaicin patch (in 2 monitored spaces).
When the pain team are ready to begin the procedure a member of the team will walk or transfer the patient in a wheelchair to the procedure room in SAPU.
The patients care documents will follow the patient into the procedure room and then back to the monitoring / recovery rooms once the procedure finishes.
Patient property remains with them if they are having an infusion or application of patch. If they have been allocated a room then property can remain in the room, or can be secured in the locker room.
After the procedures have ended, the patients will go to the recovery area if required or return to their allocated room, where the theatre staff will hand the patient over to the SAPU nursing Staff.
Here they will wait until ready for discharge (feel well, able to eat and drink and mobilise safely and has been to the toilet if a spinal injection has been carried out by the SAPU staff).