A survey of patient satisfaction after day case surgery

A prospective survey of patients attending day case surgery was undertaken to determine patient satisfaction. In an eight-week prospective study, pati ents undergoing procedures in the day surgical unit were asked to fill in t wo questionnaires, the first before surgery and the second two weeks after surgery. One hundred and eighty-nine patients were recruited into the study ; of these, 98 (52.4%) returned correctly completed forms. Most of the pati ents believed the information given them before surgery was adequate and th e standard of care in the day unit was high. Only five patients needed to s ee their general practitioner because of continued problems, Twenty-one pat ients felt they were discharged too early. Our current practice in day case surgery inevitably leads to some patients being discharged early. Faciliti es must be provided for some patients to stay longer in the day unit. Day c ase surgery did not result in an unacceptable increase in the workload for GPs, nor did it compromise the quality of patient care.