Day Surgery Unit

Level 2
Torbay Hospital
Lowes Bridge
Torquay TQ2 7AA

Tel: 01803 655508

Director of Day Surgery Unit / Consultant Anaesthetist: 01803 654047

Services

Our nationally recognised Day Surgery Unit is based at Torbay Hospital. The majority of the surgery performed at Torbay and South Devon is day case surgery, which is when people come to hospital, have their surgery and return home on the same day.

Our Day Surgery Unit treats over 9,000 people a year, and has been open since 1995. It is a really welcoming and warm environment, and we see both adults and children.

Our team has a great deal of experience in delivering the highest quality care, and we are delighted to hear positive feedback from the people we support. The unit provides operations for a range of specialties, including:

We also support people needing:

  • Chronic pain work
  • Dental sedation work
  • Dermatology and plastic surgery lists
  • Children’s dental list for those needing a General Anaesthetic
  • Special needs adult restorative dental work for those needing a General Anaesthetic

Receiving treatment at the Day Surgery Unit

A surgeon will recommend the option of day surgery if it can be done safely in our unit. The day surgery team will then arrange an appointment to confirm that the person needing care is appropriate to have their surgery on the same day. We regularly make the use of new technologies to improve our communications with people prior to their operation.

Pre-assessment

We need to make sure people receiving care are medically fit for day surgery. They are all contacted by our one of our nurses who will call, or may meet with them face to face, prior to their operation. The nurse will ask questions about home support, medical problems, medications and arrange any tests that may be required (such as blood tests and swabs). If needed, they will have a discussion with an anaesthetic doctor. Detailed information about what to expect on the day of surgery and the plans that need to be made before coming to hospital is available in our Day Surgey Unit – Information Pack.

People, their families and their carers are given contact details so that they can contact the hospital after their operation if they need any advice or have any unexpected problems.

The day after an operation, a nurse from our unit will be in touch to check how they are feeling and give or seek advice on how to deal with any problems. All feedback and follow up helps us to continually improve our service. If a person receiving care at the Day Surgery Unit is unable to go home after their surgery, they will be cared for overnight at Torbay Hospital as necessary.