Staff experiences of enhanced recovery after surgery: systematic review of qualitative studies

Staff experiences of enhanced recovery after surgery: systematic review of qualitative studies

Cohen R, Gooberman-Hill R. Staff experiences of enhanced recovery after surgery: systematic review of qualitative studies. BMJ Open. 2019 Feb 12;9(2):e022259.

What is already known:

ERAS programmes are well established in a lot of centres but there have often been barriers in setting them up and ultimately their success. Barriers such resistance to change, inadequate funding, lack of support from management, high staff turnover, poor documentation and shortness of time, while facilitators included a dedicated enhanced recovery lead, effective multidisciplinary team (MDT) working and ongoing education for staff and patients.

What this paper adds:

In this systematic review the authors sought to explore health professionals’ experiences of and perspectives on the ERAS pathways. Staff felt positive about the implementation of ERAS but found the process complex and challenging. They found that challenges could be addressed by ensuring that multidisciplinary teams understand ERAS principles and guidelines and communicate well with one another and with patients. Provision of comprehensive, coherent and locally relevant information to health professionals was helpful. Identifying and recruiting local ERAS champions is likely to improve the implementation and delivery of ERAS pathways.

Chris Jones, Guildford. @chrisnjones