Skip to main content

Outpatients: Day Surgery

Having an operation is never an easy time. However, the process, location and duration of hospital stay can impact significantly upon that experience.

Day Surgery is the modern way to manage a surgical procedure for many conditions and encompasses a wide variety of surgical specialities. It has many benefits over traditional in-patient surgery, especially for the patient, with high satisfaction scores, reduced incidence of hospital acquired infections and the patient recovers in the security and familiar surroundings of their own home. The process involves admission into hospital on the day of surgery and discharge home the same day for the majority of procedures. An extension to the Day Stay management is for a patient to stay over-night if the surgical procedure or medical status of the patient requires such. This can easily be accommodated.

Day Surgery takes place at both the University Hospital of Wales (UHW) and University Hospital Llandough (UHL) sites through the Short Stay Surgical Unit and Dental Hospital (UHW), the Day Surgery Unit and Cardiff and Vale Orthopaedic Centre (UHL). These are specialised units staffed by dedicated trained staff for Day Surgery. If you have been advised to come to one of these units, you will undoubtedly go through a nurse-led pre-assessment process to check your general medical health and suitability for day surgery, and be given information about your admission ahead of the date of treatment. You may be asked to telephone 48 hours before coming in to confirm your attendance. It is imperative that you follow the starvation instructions issued to you before coming into hospital.

Following surgery you will be issued with pain killers and other relevant medications before discharge. These and detailed post-operative instructions will be explained by your nurse and it is important that you follow these instructions and the dosing instructions for tablets/medicines written on the boxes.  

Patients discharged from Day Surgery should note that for 24 hours following a procedure you should not:

  • Drive
  • Operate machinery
  • Sign important documents
  • Drink alcohol

Upon discharge from Day Surgery you will need to ensure that a reliable person is available to drive you home and, if you have had a general anaesthetic for the surgical procedure, that a person is able to supervise you over the following night.

Day / Overnight stay surgery is the contemporary way of performing the majority of surgical procedures and this is available at the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.

The contact number for the Short Stay (Day Surgery) Unit at UHW is 029 2074 2662.

Follow us: