A huge drive by our theatre admin teams has seen the patients waiting for pre-op assessment dramatically fall to... absolutely none.

Last summer a backlog of up to 3,000 had built up due to the vacancies and sickness situation at the Trust. Agency staff were brought in to tackle it with amazing results.

Clinical Service Manager, Fiona Kaye, said: "Through team work and dedication by all the staff to our service users a large backlog of pre-assessments were achieved. The pre-operative department now sees 245 per week in 4 outpatient sites including Todmorden and Acre Mill. This represents tremendous work from a team of 33 staff."                    "

The pre-operative assessments are for all patients due to have a general anaesthetic to ensure that they are optimised and fit for their surgery. Each patient’s care is tailored to their need, either for inpatient care or daycase care. Patients with complex medical needs are also seen in a consultant anaesthetist clinic if required.

Theatres manager, Maggie Metcalfe, said: "Due to the work of this team more patients are receiving their surgery from us without delay. Their work has made all the difference to so many. We are now staffed back up to strength but we wouldn't be where we are without them!"