Pre-assessment

It is important to attend your appointment so we can check your fitness for surgery. We may be able to help you to improve your health and wellbeing before your operation.

We work with the surgical teams to make sure you have your operation when your health is as good as it can be.  

We are based at 5 different hospitals:

Alnwick Infirmary

We are based in the outpatient department on the first floor. Please report to outpatient reception.

Berwick Infirmary

We are based in the outpatient department on the ground floor. Please report to outpatient reception.

Hexham General Hospital

We are located in the outpatient department on the ground floor. Please report to outpatient reception.

North Tyneside General Hospital

We are located to the left of the main entrance. We share an entrance with the urgent treatment centre. Our door is the right-hand one. Please report to our reception.

Wansbeck General Hospital

We are located to the right of the urgent treatment centre. You will need to use the intercom button next to the glass sliding doors to get in. Please report to our reception.

More information about our hospitals, including transport and parking, is available here.

You will receive a link via text message to answer some questions online. Click here to complete them now. You do not need to do this if you have already completed your Synopsis questionnaire.

This will help us to understand your medical and surgical history, current medications and any previous medical issues.

Doing this before your appointment helps us to cater the appointment to your needs.

However, it you can't do it before, it can be done at your appointment.

How to answer the online questionnaire

We use a system called Synopsis. The link we send will take you to it. You will need to register the first time you use it.

You will then answer the questions about your medical history. If you need to stop, your answers will be saved.

When you have answered them all, you will need to click share and select 'Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust'.

Finally, you must enter your hospital number. This is the number on your appointment letter or text starting with a T.

A full user guide is available here.

This video also shows how to use the system.

• A current list of your medications. This includes any non-prescribed medicines. 
• A list of your medical conditions.  
• Any recent letters about your health. For example, letters from specialist appointments at the hospital.
• Your reading glasses, hearing aids or anything else that helps you to communicate more easily with our team. An interpreter can be arranged for your appointment if needed. If you need extra help, please let us know before you come in. You can contact us on 0191 203 1265. Or you can ask a member of staff for help on arrival.
• You are welcome to bring one person with you. This could be a family member, friend, or carer. If you need more than one person with you, please contact us on 0191 203 1265.
• You should wear comfortable clothing that you can take off easily. This is in case we need to examine you.

We will gather information about your health. We usually take a routine set of observations. You may need more tests depending on the surgery you are having.

Tests may include:

• Blood pressure
• Pulse and oxygen saturation
• Height and weight
• ECG for heart rhythm
• Blood test
• Urine test
• Lung function test
• Physical check
• Various swabs

Please arrive 10 minutes early for your appointment. Appointments usually last between 30 minutes and 1 hour. They can last up to 2 hours.

We will follow up any investigations such as blood tests and swabs. We may also need to speak to members of the team involved in your care such as your surgeon or anaesthetist.

Once we have all this information, we will tell your surgeon's secretary if you can go ahead with your surgery.

If there is a problem with any of your results or if your surgery needs to be postponed, we will contact you to let you know the next steps. 

Surgery can put stress on our bodies. We know that many things can affect how well your body recovers from an operation.

Things that you do to help with this include:

• Do as much exercise as possible
• Having a healthy BMI (body mass index). We will tell you if you need to reduce it before surgery.
• Cut down or ideally stop smoking. Help and support is available here.
• Reduce your alcohol intake. Help and support is available here.
• Make sure your long-term health conditions are under good control. Make sure you have attended your most recent checks for your conditions. Make sure you are taking your medications as directed.

More information on getting ready for surgery is available from the Get Set for Surgery website. It covers wellbeing, smoking, healthy eating, alcohol, pain management, exercise and sleep.

If you become ill or start new medication after your pre-assessment appointment, please let us know.

Fasting

You must stop eating and drinking before your operation.

For operations in the morning:

No solid foods from midnight before surgery.

A cup of tea or coffee with a little milk, or diluted orange squash / cordial is allowed until 6.30am. You can freely drink water, even when you are in hospital, until your operation.

For operations in the afternoon:

A light breakfast of fruit juice, tea or coffee, plus a bowl of cereal or a slice of buttered toast with jam / marmalade can be eaten before 7.30am.

A cup of tea or coffee with a little milk, or diluted orange squash / cordial is allowed until 11am. You can freely drink water, even when you are in hospital, until your time of surgery.

Medications

Unless told otherwise, please take all medications with water at the usual times. If possible, please take your morning medication before coming to hospital.

Please bring all your medication with you. Bring it in its original packaging.

Painkillers

Please stock up on simple painkillers for after your operation.

If you can take them, make sure you have paracetamol and ibuprofen in stock at home. These are much cheaper to buy over the counter than via a prescription charge.

Other

You should have a bath or shower in the morning before coming into hospital. If this is not possible, please inform the nursing staff on arrival.

Wound infection rates reduce when you are warm. Please arrive warm and stay warm while in hospital. Please bring a clean dressing gown, socks and slippers to wear while waiting.

You will need to remove all jewellery for you operation, other than a simple wedding band. Please avoid bringing other jewellery with you. If possible, please remove any body piercing items.

Please note the time on your appointment letter is for your admission. It is not the time of your procedure.

Aftercare

Unless told otherwise, if you have a general anaesthetic or sedation, a responsible adult needs to collect you. They must escort you home and stay with you for 24 hours after your surgery. Taxi drivers and public transport drivers are not classed as an escort.

More information is available in our patient information leaflet here.

If you are no longer going ahead with your planned surgery, please cancel your pre-assessment appointment by calling 0191 203 1265.

If you can't attend your pre-assessment appointment and need to re-schedule, please let us know as soon as possible. Call 0191 203 1265 to get a new appointment. Please be aware that cancelling at short notice may result in your surgery being cancelled or postponed.

Phonelines are open 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Multiple cancellations or failure to attend your appointment may result in your pre-assessment referral being cancelled. This may affect the date of your surgery.

Current symptoms and advice are available here.

We encourage all patients having surgery to have a Covid-19 vaccination. Ideally this should be 2 weeks or more before surgery. It must be at least 48 hours before.

If you haven't had your vaccine, you can still have surgery.

If I test positive for Covid-19, will this affect my pre-assessment appointment?

If you test positive and have a high temperature or feel unwell, you need to re-arrange your appointment.

Call us on 0191 203 1265. Phonelines are open 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

If you test positive, but do not have a temperature and feel well, you can come to your appointment. Please wear a mask while in hospital.

If I test positive for Covid-19, will this affect my surgery?

If you test positive within 2 weeks of your surgery date, we may need to defer your operation for at least 7 week. This decision will follow an individual risk assessment by your surgeon.

This is to protect your health by reducing the risk of complications after surgery.

We follow guidance from the Royal Colleges of Surgeons and Anaesthetists and the Association of Anaesthetists.

Please contact your surgeon's secretary if you have symptoms of Covid or test positive within 2 weeks of your surgery date.

Attending the surgical day unit for your operation - patient information leaflet.

Surgical day unit patient discharge information - patient information leaflet.

Receiving a blood transfusion - patient information leaflet.

Patient information leaflets and video resources | The Royal College of Anaesthetists (rcoa.ac.uk) - Information on general anaesthetics, spinal anaesthetics and nerve blocks.

getsetforsurgery.org.uk - Information about wellbeing, smoking, healthy eating, alcohol, pain management, exercise and sleep.

Stop smoking support :: Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Alcohol :: Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Waiting Well – supporting our patients to prepare for surgery :: Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust - Waiting Well is a service supporting patients who are waiting for planned surgery or treatment, such as knee and hip replacements. Some patients under the care of our trust may be contacted and offered support from the Waiting Well service.

Cancer prehabilitation :: Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust - Useful advice and information for our cancer patients.

Synopsis Home - answer your online questions before your appointment.

Synposis user guide - how to use the Synopsis system to answer the online questions before your appointment.

Colorectal :: Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Plastic surgery :: Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Robotic surgery :: Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Trauma and orthopaedics :: Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Upper gastrointestinal :: Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust