POST-OPERATIVE RECOVERY TELEPHONE CALL: THE PATIENTS’ PERSPECTIVE

Emma Torrance1,3 Linda Hallam1, Michael Walton1,2,3, Puneet Monga1,2,3,

Adam Watts1,2,3 & Lennard Funk1,2,3

1The Arm Clinic at The Wilmslow Hospital 2Wrightington Hospital3 University of Salford

emma@thearmclinic.com

BACKGROUND

METHODS

Sixty-eight patients completed paper questionnaires 21 days after surgery to assess

their satisfaction with the post-operative telephone service. Seventeen patients were

professional sportspeople and were not contacted. The patient cohort consisted of 21

females and 47 males and had a mean age of 39.35 ± 14.71 (range 16 – 76). All

patients were treated in a day-case surgical centre by one senior shoulder surgeon and

one anaesthetist over a nine month period, and called 24 hours after surgery.

RESULTS

KEY POINTS

Shoulder surgery has been traditionally associated with short-term postoperative pain,

warranting overnight hospitalisation. Over the last decade, development in both arthroscopic

shoulder techniques and pain relief has facilitated the transition from in-patient to day-case

surgery.

Pain management is imperative in day-case shoulder surgery. In order to maintain

communication with the patient early after surgery, we have introduced a post-operative

telephone service to recognise potential post-operative complications and alleviate patient

concerns.

When questioned, 51 patients remembered the telephone call, nine patients claimed they did not receive a call

and eight could not remember. Interestingly, five patients claimed they received a call when they did not.

• Where applicable, 100% of patients believed that the phone call helped to answer questions they may have

had.

• 96% of patients were happy with the information they received from the call regarding pain relief and the

remaining 4% did not answer the question when posed.

• 98% of patients stated they were happy with the information regarding dressings and the remaining 2%

responded that the question was not applicable.

Two patients had noted that they would have liked an appointment to review the dressing; one of those patients

visited the GP for this purpose. One patient requested a daily exercise program.

Overall, 100% of patients believed the recovery call service to be beneficial to their patient experience.

A follow-up call after surgery holds many potential advantages to the patient, their family and

the surgeon without sacrificing patient safety.