P094: Breast school: A holistic approach to optimise recovery following breast surgery
Published Date: 01st June 2020
Publication Authors: Power G
Background
The Enhanced Recovery Programme with emphasis on better patient education and preparation encouraged us to introduce a Breast School with a view to increasing Day Cases and improving patient experience and outcomes. This School has been developed by a team of surgeons, anaesthetists, breast care nurses, dieticians, physiotherapists and ward nurses. It aims to optimise patient recovery through a series of talks delivered to cohorts of patients, covering domains of analgesia, nutrition, physiotherapy and addressing individual holistic needs. Prior to implementation, we aimed to ascertain patient opinion on perceived benefit of the service and whether they had concerns about group consultation.
Method(s)
Twenty patients were given a questionnaire, to fill anonymously, at the self-supported management workshop about the proposed breast school.
Result(s)
Sixteen questionnaires were returned. All respondents felt that a breast school would "reduce anxiety levels", provide "opportunity to ask questions to the specialists" and "aid recovery from surgery". None had concerns over sharing the consultation in a group and felt it would be an "opportunity to meet other patients".
Conclusion(s)
All patients who responded were extremely positive about the benefits of the breast school. No concerns were raised around confidentiality. Patients valued being part of this group. All would strongly recommend the introduction of this service as a positive step forward. We plan to evaluate the success of this innovation by assessing day case rates, patient satisfaction, anxiety scores and analgesia usage.
Power, G. (2020). P094: Breast school: A holistic approach to optimise recovery following breast surgery. European Journal of Surgical Oncology. 46 (6), E35