Social impact of same day surgery for the patient and the carer: A study of patients’ experiences

AbstractA semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview 18 patients, prior to surgery, on the day of their admission to day surgery. The purpose of the interviews was to gather information about the social arrangements, for both patient and carer, that were made necessary by the need for the patient to attend surgery and to be cared for at home over the 24-hour post-discharge period. The initial response of the patients concerning the arrangements made for their post-operative care didn’ t expose any far-reaching difficulties. However, their descriptive stories reveal the extent of the measures that some needed to take in order to attend surgery and be cared for at home. These results point to a need for extensive research into the cost of the social impact of day surgery on the patient and the carer.