Pre-operative Assessment Centre : University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The Pre-operative Assessment Centre has been established to assess patients before their planned admission and to ensure readiness for surgery. The aim is to prevent delays and cancellations by:

Ensuring that you are fit for surgery and if necessary, referring you to other specialists such as an anaesthetist or an occupational therapist
Identifying and arranging further tests or monitoring that may be required
Allowing any potential problems to be identified and addressed before the day of surgery
Giving you the opportunity to ask questions about your hospital stay
Giving you an estimated discharge date so you will know how long you can expect to be in hospital

Do I need to make an appointment?

No. The admissions team will give you a date for your admission and an appointment to come to the pre-operative assessment Centre. You can telephone the clinic to change your appointment if this is not convenient. Our number can be found on the back of this leaflet. Ideally your appointment should take place two to three weeks prior to surgery.

How long will my appointment take?

Your appointment may take up to two hours. If you are also booked to see a consultant anaesthetist, it may take longer.

What can I expect?

You will be seen by a pre-operative assessment nurse and under certain circumstances you will see an anaesthetist too. You will be asked questions about your general health and if necessary, you will have further tests such as blood tests, an ECG, X-rays, and MRSA swabs.

What should I bring with me?

A list of any medications (prescription, non-prescription and herbal remedies) that you are currently taking is essential.
The results of any recent tests you have had and clinic letters that you may have about your medical problems. Results or letters concerning you heart or lungs are particularly important.
A list of questions to ask.

It is very important that you inform the nurse if you take warfarin, aspirin, clopidogrel, dipyramidole, dabigatran, apixaban, rixaroxaban or any other blood thinning medication. You may need to stop taking these drugs prior to surgery.

Please call the Admissions Office on 020 3448 4774 or 020 3448 3833 if:

You need to change the date of your operation.
You decide not to go ahead with surgery or have the surgery elsewhere.
You have a minor illness that will not resolve by the date of surgery (such as cough or cold).
There is a significant change in your general health.