Evidence-Based Medicine
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Orthop. Apr 18, 2015; 6(3): 360-362
Published online Apr 18, 2015. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v6.i3.360
Patients’ preferred mode of travel to the orthopaedic theatre
Joel A Humphrey, Sarah L Johnson, Shilen Patel, Muzaffar Malik, Charles A Willis-Owen, Stephen Bendall
Joel A Humphrey, Sarah L Johnson, Shilen Patel, Stephen Bendall, Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals, Sussex Orthopaedic NHS Treatment Centre, Haywards Heath, RH16 4EY West Sussex, United Kingdom
Muzaffar Malik, Division of Medical Education, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Brighton, Falmer, BN1 9PH Brighton, United Kingdom
Charles A Willis-Owen, Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, SE18 4QH London, United Kingdom
Author contributions: All authors contributed to this manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest: No conflict of interest.
Data sharing: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Joel A Humphrey, BSc (Hons), MBBS, MRCS, MSc, Orthopaedic Specialist Registrar, Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals, Sussex Orthopaedic NHS Treatment Centre, Lewes Road, Haywards Heath, RH16 4EY West Sussex, United Kingdom. drjoelhumphrey@aol.com
Telephone: +44-14-44448770 Fax: +44-14-44448770
Received: September 24, 2014
Peer-review started: September 26, 2014
First decision: October 21, 2014
Revised: December 19, 2014
Accepted: January 15, 2015
Article in press: January 19, 2015
Published online: April 18, 2015
Processing time: 195 Days and 20 Hours
Abstract

AIM: To determine the preferred mode of travel to the operating theatre for elective orthopaedic patients.

METHODS: Data was collected prospectively over a 2-wk period at an elective Orthopaedic Treatment Centre. Patients were asked to complete a patient satisfaction questionnaire following their surgery on their experience and subsequent preferred mode of transport to theatre. The data was then recorded in a tabulated format and analysed with percentages. Fisher’s exact test was used to determine if there was any statistical association between patients’ preference to walk and various groups; in-patient or day case procedures, and whether patients were < 60 years or > 60 years of age.

RESULTS: Seventy patients (40 females and 30 males) fully completed the questionnaire. In total there were 33 d-cases and 37 in-patients. The spectrum of orthopaedic sub-specialties included was knee (41%), hip (17%), foot and ankle (24%), spine (13%) and upper limb (4%). Patient satisfaction for overall experience of travelling to theatre was either excellent (77%) or good (23%). Following their experience of travelling to theatre, 87% (95%CI: 79%-95%) of the total cohort would have preferred to walk to the operating theatre. There was a statistically significant association (P = 0.003) between patients’ preference to walk and whether they were day-case or in-patients. Similarly, there was a statistically significance association (P = 0.028) between patients’ preference to walk and whether they were < 60 years or > 60 years of age.

CONCLUSION: This study confirms the majority of Orthopaedic elective patients would prefer to walk to theatre, when given the choice and if practically possible.

Keywords: Patient satisfaction; Orthopaedic theatre; Patient autonomy

Core tip: There were previously no studies focusing primarily on how Orthopaedic patients prefer to travel the operating theatre. Questioning unproven and habitual protocols is essential to improve delivery of care. Our study highlights elective orthopaedic patients should predominantly walk to theatre with a nurse to enhance independence, maintain dignity and improve efficiency of the process; however the patient’s autonomy must be respected and pre-operative mobility taken into account.