Aim
To evaluate staff feedback following a 3 month General Surgery Geriatric Service pilot in a busy tertiary hospital.
Methods
Our service included regular consultant and registrar ward rounds and clinical support for junior doctors managing frail surgical patients. Key roles included : Attendance at MDTs, medical optimisation, family meetings, goals of care discussions and discharge planning.
Anonymous surveys were completed by surgical registrars/ junior doctors, nursing and allied health (ward staff) at the start and end of the pilot. The 5 point Likert scale was used against statements to evaluate the service.
Results
Responses surgical doctors:
Pre pilot survey: 27
Post pilot survey : 22
Responses nursing and allied health : 24
Key findings included:
PRIOR to pilot : The majority of surgical juniors did not feel well supported or confident managing medical issues in older patients.
They felt older patients were better optimised DURING the pilot and discharge planning was more efficient. All felt more supported on the ward.
All ward staff felt medical management had improved and the majority also agreed there was more efficient discharge planning.
All doctors felt this is an essential service for frail surgical patients.
Conclusion
Feedback was extremely positive and demonstrates the increasing enthusiasm for more geriatricians on surgical wards. Benefits are far reaching including:improving patient outcomes, bed flow and improving training experiences for junior doctors. As our surgical population ages, there is no better time to embrace General Surgery Geriatrics collaboration.