An updated revision of HPU 270 Day Surgery / Procedure Unit (Revision 7, March 2022) has been uploaded to the AusHFG website.  The revised version has been informed by an extensive consultation process with clinical, operational and technical experts.

Key changes to the document include:

• inclusion of new sections relating to the ‘patient experience’, management of infectious patients, management of paediatrics and management of bariatric patients;
• acknowledgement of the increasing role of telehealth to support the pre-admission process, noting that more complex patients will continue to require face to face pre-admission consultation;
• inclusion of additional information relating to contemporary operational models for case assembly set up and sterilising / reprocessing services;
• recommendation that unit configurations should support collocation and flexibility between pre-procedure and post-procedure holding areas rather than configurations that only support one way flow;
• additional information included relating to the planning and design requirements to support Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCPs);
• updates to the recommended number of patient bays per theatre / procedure room while acknowledging that final numbers will depend on the casemix and projected throughput of the unit.  For example, the majority of ophthalmology patients and a significant proportion of patients post endoscopy will be transferred directly to Stage 2 recovery; and
• general updates to the SOA to reflect contemporary practice, benchmarking to recently delivered facilities, and the associated revised standard components.  Key changes include updated areas for standard operating theatres and endoscopy procedure rooms (to align with the AusHFG standard components and HPU 520 Operating Unit), Stage 2 recovery bays, reprocessing areas, sterile stock and equipment storage areas, and staff amenities.