The Post-operative Phase

The postoperative phase embraces activities needed to discharge the patient and involves checking and monitoring the conditions of the patient undergoing surgery and managing adverse events. Every healthcare authority is obliged to identify the responsibilities of healthcare practitioners and provide criteria and management methods for the Post-operative patient; it is essential that the appropriate level of care be decided (12) for each patient.

Human resources and responsibilities for the surgical management pathway will therefore need to be defined, especially with regard to clinical care activities, the expertise of staff employed, the briefing and debriefing communication method between health-care staff in the operating suite and recovery room, available equipment to assess the patient's clinical conditional on arrival and on discharge, methods and the criteria for assistance in the ward and the general specification and risk management criteria.