Ready to Go Home? Patients’ Experiences of the Discharge Process in an EnhancedRecovery After Surgery (ERAS) Program for Colorectal Surgery

Ready to Go Home? Patients’ Experiences of the Discharge Process in an EnhancedRecovery After Surgery (ERAS) Program for Colorectal Surgery

Jones D, Musselman R, Pearsall E, McKenzie M, Huang H, McLeod RS. J Gastrointest Surg. 2017 Nov;21(11):1865-1878

What is already known:

Patient involvement and their pre-operative education on what to expect whilst in hospital is an essential part of a successful ERAS programme. However this is mostly on the actual procedure / hospital stay rather than education on what to expect after discharge. This Canadian group sought to ascertain the satisfaction and major concerns patients had with their discharge planning process.

What this paper adds:

Generally patients were very satisfied, with 93% of patients happy with the information they received prior to discharge, and 90% felt they were ready to go home. However quite a few patients felt they needed more information on specific complications and symptoms and how to manage them at home. In particular patients who underwent stoma formations as part of their surgery. Eighty-four percent of these patients experienced problems post-operatively and over 70% needed to seek help from healthcare professionals. In particular they wanted the contact details of a stoma-nurse and felt that if they could directly discuss things with them it could reduce the need for emergency admission.

Chris Jones, Guildford. @chrisnjones