Impact of a thoracic nurse-led chest drain clinic on patient satisfaction

Nurse-led clinics are an increasingly used resource in managing postoperative patients and meeting their clinical needs. Since 2007, St James' University Hospital has run a ward-based nurse-led clinic; providing follow-up and management of patients after thoracic surgery. We aimed to assess patient satisfaction with the clinic's ability to manage their postoperative needs. Data were collected prospectively from patients attending the clinic between July and August 2010 using structured patient questionnaires. We evaluated 83 patient feedback questionnaires. The reasons for clinic attendance were predominantly wound assessment and chest drain review. Fifty-four (65%) patients were managed without seeing a doctor, of whom only four (7%) believed seeing a doctor would have been beneficial. Seventy-three (88%) patients stated their needs were met in the clinic and 82 (99%) patients described the overall care they received as good, very good or excellent. This survey highlights that patients are satisfied with a nurse-led service and will hopefully help encourage the development of such services within thoracic surgery.