Background
The West Metro Health Service Partnership (WMHSP) implemented a range of surgical reform programs with support from Western Central Melbourne Integrated Cancer Service (WCMICS). The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery plus Prehabilitation (ERAS+) project was implemented at several partner hospitals. As part of ERAS+ implementation, Virtual Surgery School (VSS) was developed and launched early 2023. VSS is a new concept of delivering key preoperative educational content through videos that help patients prepare for their upcoming surgery and recovery. VSS is a scalable, high quality, universal prehabilitation model for all patients preparing for surgery.
Method
Content was codesigned with expert clinicians and consumers from partner hospitals. The videos cover evidence-based advice on general, condition-specific and same-day surgery.
VSS consists of nine core videos applicable to all types of surgeries, alongside thirteen condition-specific videos tailored for head and neck, gynaecology, colorectal, and orthopaedic surgeries.
The videos are translated into Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Greek, and Arabic, and access to VSS is via a web browser or application. The digital platform enables collection of a custom-made patient reported experience measures (PREM).
Results
VSS was successfully implemented at five partner hospitals and has since been shared to all hospitals within Victoria. The PREM (n=91) results indicate high confidence and satisfaction in VSS; 98% patients reported satisfaction the amount of information received before surgery.
Furthermore, 98% report that content was easy to understand, and 95% reported feeling supported for recovery post-surgery.
"The Virtual Surgery School videos were incredibly helpful in preparing me for my procedure. They provided clear and easy-to-understand information about what to expect before, during, and after surgery." - [Patient Quote].
Conclusions
VSS is a scalable, co-designed universal prehabilitation model for pre surgery education that improves patient satisfaction and preparation for their upcoming surgery.