Pre Admission Clinic
If you have been booked for an elective surgical procedure, you will require an assessment prior to admission. Hospital staff will decide ahead of your surgery if this should occur by telephone, or in person at the Pre Admission Clinic. This decision is based on the type of surgery you are having, and your underlying health condition.
An in-person Pre Admission Clinic review helps staff arrange any investigations or specialist referrals before your surgery. You will also be able to raise any questions or discuss concerns about the surgery or your care after you go home.
Why do I need to attend Pre Admission Clinic?
- This clinic allows early identification of the need to arrange tests or a referral to your anaesthetist or doctor. This is done to avoid problems or even cancellation on the day of surgery.
- A pre-admission assessment may reduce the time you need to stay in hospital.
- It will give you an opportunity to ask any questions about your upcoming surgery, and discuss any concerns.
- To start planning for your discharge from hospital.
What should I expect on the day?
You will see several staff members during your visit, depending on the type of planned surgery and your underlying medical conditions. You may see anaesthetists, nurses and several allied health staff. You may also be required to undergo some blood tests, or give a urine sample.
While we aim to keep your appointment on time, please allow up to three hours to complete your visit as you will be seeing several different people and may need further tests.
As applicable, during your Pre Admission Clinic appointment the staff will:
- obtain a thorough medical and surgical history
- review your list of medications, and make plans for any you may need to stop before surgery
- conduct blood tests, ECGs, urine tests and other investigations
- have relevant allied health professionals such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists and dieticians assess your needs
- provide information about your surgical procedure and recovery
- understand your needs and answer any questions.
What should I bring?
On the day that you attend, please bring with you:
- a list of your current medications
- any GP or specialist letters
- recent blood test results (within the last 6 months)
- any cardiology reports or investigations (such as echocardiogram or “echo” reports, letters from your cardiologist, etc.).
Sir Charles Gairdner staff will not have access to all of your medical investigations or specialist reports, if you have undergone any outside the hospital, or seen private specialists.
This information can be vital for the doctors and nurses assessing you at Pre Admission Clinic, so it is important if you have had recent investigations performed outside the hospital, to bring the results and reports along with you.
If your GP has been organising tests and scans for you, an alternative is to ask them to upload the results to your My Health Record (external site) profile prior to your appointment.