How appropriate is direct admission for laparoscopic clip sterilisation. A prospective questionnaire study

The aim of this study was to assess whether direct booking for laparoscopic sterilisation increases non-attendance rate or limits communication with patients. It included 149 patients booked for laparoscopic clip sterilisation as a day case upon receiving a referral for sterilisation without being seen in the gynaecology outpatient clinic at Singleton Hospital. Patients were asked to fill a self-construct questionnaire about their satisfaction with the information provided to them, in the hospital information leaflet sent to them upon booking. A total of 53 of these patients (35.6%) were seen in the pre-admission clinic and 96 (64.4%) were to be admitted straight for surgery. All of those seen in the pre-admission clinic attended for surgery (100%), compared with 76 (79.2%) of those booked for admission without pre-admission clinic attendance (Fisher's exact test p < 0.01). The preoperative assessment clinic appears to give patients a chance to further discuss sterilisation and this seems to contribute to the lower 'did not attend' (DNA) rate. There was no significant difference in assessing the information leaflet between those who attended the pre-assessment clinic and those who were admitted on the day.