Setting up and evaluating patient information open evenings

Staff at the Victoria infirmary patient preadmission clinic for major joint-replacement surgery recognised that the amount of information patients are given before a procedure is impossible to retain. This can lead to patients feeling ill-informed and less confident in their health care providers. An open evening was arranged to provide patients, accompanied by a friend or relative, with access to information on all aspects of their journey of care, while giving them the opportunity to meet staff and ask questions. The success of the event has resulted in it becoming a regular occurrence.