Patients with chronic pain, frailty, anxiety or depression, or those on opioids before surgery, are the ones most likely still to be in pain a week after a day case. A short structured call on day 3 or 7 — pain score, function, analgesic use, sleep — catches those who need a changed plan before pain becomes established. It can be done by a nurse from a list generated at pre-assessment.
- Flag high-risk day-case patients at pre-assessment for follow-up.
- Ask four things on the call: pain score, activity, analgesic use, sleep.
- Adjust the analgesic plan or bring the patient back if pain is above 4 or limiting activity.
- Check that patients are actually taking regular paracetamol and NSAID, not just rescue analgesia.
Why it matters
Pain that persists at a week is a step towards chronic postsurgical pain.
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