Pre Assessment

Once you have decided to have surgery an appointment will be made with the pre-assessment team. The pre-assessment unit is based at the back of the hospital on floor One near the children’s outpatient department.

We want you to be as fit as possible before surgery to prevent cancellation and reduce the likelihood of post-operative complications. The main aim of pre-assessment is to ensure all of your existing medical conditions are taken into account, and any new conditions are detected.

This involves arranging all the necessary tests and investigations in preparation for your surgery. You may require a number of visits to pre-assessment to ensure you are fully fit.

An explanation of the procedure and admission details will be discussed with you, and you will be given information in leaflet form to support this. If you have any questions the nursing staff will be happy to advise you. You will be given a telephone number as a point of contact just in case you have questions regarding your planned admission.

Pre-assessment on the day of surgery

Pre-assessment also covers patients who are arriving for their operation.

The process that takes place involves the patient being “admitted”; this includes a final assessment by a surgeon or anaesthetist as to whether the patient is fit for surgery. The nurse will also undertake an assessment.

If everything is deemed satisfactory, the patient is then transferred to the operating department where they will have surgery.

Following the operation the patient may return to the day surgery unit - if someone is to be discharged on the same day.

If this is not the case, the patient will be placed on one of the inpatient wards following surgery. This is likely to be the Inpatient Surgical Unit (ISU) or on the Orthopaedic Unit.

Patient waiting bays are separated by sex; as a result each room will only have a single sex placed within it.

The unit opens at 7am and closes at 7pm.

Visit the AccessAble website for accessibility information and directions for visiting the pre-assessment clinic at Barnsley Hospital.