The challenges we are currently facing in perioperative care are:
- £16billion is spent on elective surgical care in England each year.
- 10 million patients have surgery every year, and this number is rising.
- Long-term conditions: 25% of the population in England have one.
- An aging population: it is great news that people are living longer, but this does leave us with challenges.
- Intensive care capacity: less than 1 in 5 non-cardicac surgery patients are admitted to ICU.
- High-risk patients are a minority, but account for 4 in 5 deaths after surgery.
- Screening patients for long-term harm: there is currently no system in the UK to screen patients in this manner, for issues such as heart failure or deteriorating kidney function.
