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Abstract
Background and Aims Regional anaesthesia is an integral part of elective anaesthesia in modern hospitals and is almost obligatory now for certain orthopaedic and general surgical procedures. There is increasing requirements for efficiency on surgical lists in UK hospitals. Our regional service uses regional specialists and fellows to perform nerve blocks for patients before their surgical procedure and whilst the surgical list can concurrently progress. We aimed to discover if patient‘s satisfaction was also being met with this service.
Methods All patients who went through the regional anaesthesia service from 2017 to 2019 had a follow up SMS to their mobile phone after 48 hours. This just involved the patients clicking a link and answering 6 questions on their experience of the nerve block with a free text box for any comments on regional recommendations. Automated email alerts were sent if there was anything concerning.
Results As primary endpoints, 58% stated that the pain block gave relief as expected and only 16% stating it was shorter pain relief than expected. 26% stated it lasted longer.
59% stated they were extremely likely and 26% likely to recommend to family/friends.
A few of the negative comments involved pain on injection and long lasting motor block being uncomfortable and annoying.
Conclusions We have found that regional anaesthesia follow up is beneficial for patient safety, satisfaction and service improvement. There was overall a very positive response to regional anaesthesia and this has allowed us to make a business case for resources and funding.