A patient education programme pioneered at Shepton Mallet NHS Treatment Centre empowers hip and knee replacement patients to speed their own recovery.
“The clinical evidence is that pre-op empowerment makes for better outcomes,” according to business manager Ralph Day. “Patients come to us hungry for information, and we provide them with the information we have on every phase of treatment – from the patient guide they receive when they book in to information on post-operative recovery.” Patients meet the entire treatment team – including the surgeon, anaesthetist, triage nurse and physiotherapist – at their outpatient appointments. This will be the first of many opportunities they have to ask questions. In pre-treatment classes, for example, hip and knee replacement patients hear about pain management from a lead nurse and learn from a physiotherapist the exercises they will need to maximise recovery. A subsequent open session allows one-to-one consultations on patient-specific concerns. Physiotherapist Alex Arun pointed out that patients often want information on basic issues such as the best way to get in and out of a car, or upstairs, after the operation. “What we do demystifies the process,” he said. “The information we provide is focused, short and succinct. We tailor it so that it’s specific to the patient’s needs.” According to Day, patients are often positively surprised by the emphasis put on empowering them. “Patient information is the future,” he said. “But we’re doing it here now.”