The effectiveness of nurse-led surgical pre-assessment clinics

Pre-operative pre-assessment has this summer
been the subject of National Institute for
Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance (see
Box 1), However, in a review of pre-assessment
clinics, Clinch (1997) states that, before 1990,
there was little published formal research on preassessment,
with most accounts being descriptive,
anecdotal and aimed at sharing the experience
of organising such services, Box 2 shows the
traditional pathway for patients requiring elective
surgery in the UK.