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The impact and restoration of colorectal services during the coronavirus disease 20 19 pandemic: A view from Oxford
Author(s) -
Yeung Trevor,
Merchant Julia,
Chen Patrick,
Smart Corinne,
Ghafoor Hamira,
Woodhouse Fran,
James David,
Symons Nicholas,
Boyce Stephen,
Jones Oliver,
George Bruce,
Lindsey Ian
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
surgical practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.109
H-Index - 10
eISSN - 1744-1633
pISSN - 1744-1625
DOI - 10.1111/1744-1633.12531
Subject(s) - medicine , pandemic , covid-19 , colorectal surgery , colorectal cancer , elective surgery , medical emergency , multidisciplinary team , harm , health care , general surgery , multidisciplinary approach , healthcare system , emergency medicine , intensive care medicine , surgery , nursing , cancer , disease , abdominal surgery , social science , sociology , political science , infectious disease (medical specialty) , law , economics , economic growth
Aim The coronavirus pandemic has significantly disrupted the way we deliver healthcare worldwide. We have been flexible and creative in order to continue providing elective colorectal cancer operations and to restart services for benign cases during the recovery period of the pandemic. In this paper, we describe the impact of coronavirus on our elective services and how we have implemented new patient pathways to allow us to continue providing patient care. Patients and Methods Data on major colorectal elective resections were prospectively collected in an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) database. Data on the number of proctology cases and telemed appointments were collected from the hospital theatre information management system and electronic patient record system, respectively. Results During the pandemic, there was a complete shift towards cancer cases, with benign services and proctology cases being placed on hold. Hospital length of stay was reduced. We implemented earlier hospital discharge and more intense telephone follow‐up after elective major surgery. This has not resulted in an increase in postoperative complications, nor any increase in readmission to hospital. During the recovery phase, we have introduced a higher proportion of telemed consultations, including one‐stop telemed proctology clinics, resulting in straight to tests or investigations. Conclusion We have created a streamlined multidisciplinary pathway to reinstate our elective colorectal services as soon as possible and to minimise potential harm caused to patients whose treatment have been delayed. We anticipate many of these changes will be permanently incorporated into our clinical practice once the pandemic is over.