Vascular team introduces ‘walk in, walk out’ service for patients
A consultant who wanted to help free up theatre space and deliver a better service to patients has come up with a new ‘walk in, walk out’ service which he is offering in an outpatient setting.
Sanjay Singh, Consultant Vascular Surgeon, is now delivering radiofrequency ablations procedures to patients with varicose veins – using local anaesthetic, in a bid to reduce waiting times for patients and free up theatres for patients with emergencies.
Delivering this procedure in an outpatient setting will exclude the need for a surgical procedure, general anesthetic, and the possibility of an overnight stay in hospital.
It will also improve the patient pathway and reduce wait times, meaning patients will have access to treatment more easily.
Mr Singh, said: “It used to be much more complex and invasive but nowadays we do minimal access for treatment of varicose veins.
“I’ve been doing this procedure since 2009 and in this Trust they mainly do it under general anaesthesia which means that if I am delivering this treatment in theatre I will need six people to support with the procedure. I will also require recovery staff plus people on the ward to help the patient after they have had the procedure.
“I thought if the space can be freed from theatre it can be used for something more urgent so I did a trial using local anaesthetic instead and it was very successful.”
Mr Singh said his first patient to receive the radiofrequency ablations under local anaesthetic was an 88-year-old woman who “had a really positive experience and went home happy and very thankful.”
He said: “It is a simple keyhole pin puncture so depending on what anaesthetic you use, your recovery time can be very minimal.
“When you give general anaesthesia the patient needs a recovery time of four hours, with this new way of doing the procedure the patient can have a sip of coffee and be up and leaving straight away.
“I just need two staff to support, one to scrub and one runner and the patients are walking in, having the procedure and walking out again.
“This is such a good fit. The patient experience is really positive and the straightforward procedure will help with waiting times and free up theatre space and staff which helps to keep our services going.”