Before and after care
Before#
Fill this in: what to do in the days and hours before each kind of treatment — eating, drinking, medication to continue or pause, arranging a lift home, arranging time off. Say which instructions are absolute and which are preferences, because patients treat them all the same otherwise.
Never stop or change prescribed medication because of something on this page. Ask us, or ask whoever prescribed it. Pausing the wrong thing before an appointment is more dangerous than the appointment.
The first few hours#
Fill this in: what to expect, what to avoid, what to eat and when, and what pain relief is appropriate. Give hours rather than vague periods — the difference between two hours and the rest of the day is what a patient needs.
The first few days#
Fill this in: how recovery normally progresses day by day, when normal activity resumes, and when a follow-up is due.
What is normal#
Fill this in: a normal part of recovery
Describe it, say how long it lasts and what helps. Naming it prevents a worried call and, more importantly, prevents somebody ignoring a real problem because they assumed everything unusual was normal.
Fill this in: a second normal thing
The same.
Fill this in: something that needs to be reported
Describe exactly what it looks like, and say to contact us the same day rather than waiting for the next appointment.
Fill this in: something that needs urgent attention
Describe it and give the instruction plainly: contact the number on Out of hours and emergencies now.
Medicines sent home with you#
Fill this in: how to take them, for how long, what to do about a missed dose, and what to do with what is left over. Say explicitly that a course is finished rather than stopped when the symptoms go.
Follow-up#
Fill this in: when a follow-up happens, whether it is booked automatically, and what to do if you feel fine and think you do not need it.