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Step 1:   Pre-Operative Assessment

Following a referral from your General Practitioner (GP) your Orthopaedic consultant will see you in an outpatient clinic. If you and your consultant decide that an operation is the best treatment, your consultant will then refer you to the centre by sending us your details.

Our Advanced Practitioner nurses are in attendance at some outpatient clinics, and will therefore carry out your pre assessment immediately; you will also be given a welcome pack and a home assessment questionnaire which you will need to return to the centre as soon as possible

Our schedulers will contact you well in advance of your operation to discuss mutually acceptable dates for your surgery; if you have not had your pre assessment your scheduler will arrange this for you. You will be sent confirmation of these dates in writing together with the welcome pack and home assessment questionnaire which you will need to return as soon as possible.

During the pre-assessment your fitness for surgery will be assessed by a specially trained nurse. This will include taking a medical history, including current medication, a heart tracing, a blood test, urine test, MRSA screening and an x-ray if required. 

The home assessment forms are then sent to the discharge team; they will check through these and contact you prior to your admission if necessary. Many patients manage perfectly at home without the need for additional support at home but should you need support from the community; the discharge team will liaise with you and your local primary care trust.


For Total Hip and Total Knee replacements only: 

In your welcome pack there is a DVD. Please take the time to watch it and please be assured it does not 
contain any images of surgery. 

The DVD will help you understand what will happen to you when you come into the centre. It explains the plan of treatment following your surgery and it informs you of what to expect with your rehabilitation. 
 
It provides information regarding preparing your home to meet your needs following surgery and it shows you the exercise programme you will be following after your surgery. If you do not have access to a DVD player we can organise for you to watch the DVD at the centre. 

An alternative is to view the DVD chapters online directly from the links below: (this is a free video streaming  service).