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Pre-operative assessment (POA) clinic for adults

We see patients who will be having a planned operation or procedure at Princess Royal University Hospital, Orpington Hospital or Queen Mary’s Hospital. We assess your fitness for surgery and provide the information you need to help you prepare for your operation or procedure.

Health questionnaire

We may send you an electronic health questionnaire for you to complete.

We will email or text you about the questionnaire, and you can complete it in MyChart, our online portal and app for patients. You will be able to complete the questionnaire on a PC, tablet, or smartphone.

After you complete and submit your health questionnaire, a nurse will review it.

We will either:

  • confirm you are fit for surgery, and send you the information you need for your pre-operative appointment. We will send this by email, post, or in MyChart
  • contact you with any questions or to arrange a blood test
  • ask you to a face-to-face pre-admission assessment if you have multiple health conditions

If you have any queries or are unable to complete the form, please email us at kch-tr-PRUH-SS-PreassessmentAdmin@nhs.net or call us on 01689 866 355.

Before your appointment

  • Check your appointment letter to see what you need to prepare for your appointment
  • Have a list of any current medications you take
  • If you need to change or cancel your appointment, or you have any questions, phone Admissions on the phone number on your letter.

If you do not attend your pre-operative assessment, it may delay your operation date.

Telephone appointments

If your appointment is by phone:

  • make sure you are in an appropriate place for discussing your medical history
  • you will receive a text before your appointment with the timeframe for the call. As we can’t predict how long each call will take, your appointment may be up to one hour earlier or later
  • one of our nurses will call you, there may be no caller ID
  • it is possible your phone assessment will show you need to come into hospital for a routine test or a face-to-face assessment. If this happens, the nurse will arrange this for you during the phone call

Face-to-face appointments

If your appointment is face-to-face at Orpington Hospital:

  • your visit may include having tests, so please be prepared to spend up to two hours at your appointment
  • we make every effort to ensure that patients are seen at their appointment time, however this is not always possible, as it is difficult to predict how long each patient will need
  • if you have more complex medical conditions, you may be referred for an anaesthetic review. Your medical notes will be reviewed by an anaesthetist. Normally, you will not need another appointment for this. But if the anaesthetist needs more information, they will arrange a phone or face-to-face appointment with you
  • if you are not currently fit for surgery, you may be referred back to your GP

Location

Surgical pre-operative assessment clinic
Ground Floor, Pre-assessment clinic
Orpington Hospital
Sevenoaks Road
Orpington
Kent
BR6 9JU

See our Getting to Orpington Hospital page for travel information.

Pre-operative assessment clinics are clearly signposted from the main entrance.

I need help getting to my clinic, how can I request patient transport?

For details of patient transport go to our Help with travel page.

Information on preparing for surgery

Pre-operative guidance and preparing for your surgery – PRUH – our leaflet about preparing for surgery

NHS website – Preparing for Surgery

Royal College of Anaesthetists website

Preparing for Surgery – Fitter Better Sooner – by the Royal College of Anaethetists

Contact details

Change or cancel your appointment

To change or cancel your appointment, or for any queries or concerns regarding your surgery contact the service treating your condition. Check your appointment letter for contact details, or contact:

If you are running late for your assessment appointment

POA reception: 01689 866 355

Other queries

Email: kch-tr.PRUH-SS-PreassessmentAdmin@nhs.net