Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly disrupted global elective surgical care [1]. There are presently 5 million people in the UK on an elective surgical waiting list, a number expected to grow in the coming months [2]. The capacity of peri-operative services is finite. Increasing this to address the backlog is a substantial challenge and expected to be the rate-limiting step [3]. Restoration of elective surgical pathways will be complicated by the need to mitigate the risk of peri-operative COVID-19 infection and its significant implications for patients and staff [4]. This situation has effectively created a generation of patients waiting longer for treatment, with reduced pre-operative support driving increased levels of patient anxiety and reduced ‘preparedness’ for surgery. Given the major continued burden on front-line NHS staff [5], a co-ordinated national response comprising innovative solutions is required to address this problem.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 635-639 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Anaesthesia |
Volume | 77 |
Issue number | 6 |
Early online date | 18 Nov 2021 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2022 |
Keywords
- peri-operative medicine
- prehabilitation
- preparing for surgery