Patient Reported Experiences of an Elective Perioperative Geriatric Assessment Service.

Introduction
As part of a planned care initiative undertaken with the Bevan Commission to improve surgical waiting lists in Swansea Bay we contacted patients on the waiting list for a cholecystectomy, undertook frailty screening and invited those with frailty markers to undergo clinic based geriatric assessment . Clinical governance requires patient input into the setup of any service (1). A patient satisfaction survey following clinic, along with a patient focus group were conducted. Methods 27 patients completed an online survey regarding their experience at clinic. 8 patients attended the focus group, all had attended clinic. Those we hadn't seen face to face declined or were unable to attend. The group was run by a team who were independent of the project, recorded on teams and transcribed. Results Post clinic survey 100% (27/27 patients) knew why they were invited to clinic, >80% found it useful and 92% felt their health needs were covered. The focus group highlighted a number of issues regarding frustration with administration of the list, feeling ‘forgotten about’ and as though they ‘didn’t matter’. They attended multiple pre-op assessments but had no communication, they felt our clinic was their first meaningful clinical contact.

Conclusions

Patient reported experience is a key part of service development however bias is often evident. (2) It was clear that patients valued the face to face aspect of clinic and the focus group. One clear theme from our focus group highlights administration and communication which are potentially modifiable within our resources. A theme of desiring patient choice and continuity of care between specialities was evident, which we hope to address with a unified pathway for perioperative care. 1) Clinical governance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 2) The use of focus group discussion methodology: Insights from two decades of application in conservation, T O Nyumba. 2018