Auditing 51 hernia repairs against the 80% day-case standard, and finding that most overnight stays were routine rather than clinical.
The British Association of Day Surgery sets an 80% day-case standard for inguinal hernia repair. The surgical team needed to know whether it was being met, and why some patients stayed overnight.
Collected and analysed data on 51 consecutive inguinal hernia repairs from December 2024 to March 2025, recording discharge outcome, the reason for each failed same-day discharge, and whether day-case planning was documented.
80% achieved same-day discharge. Six of the ten failed discharges were driven by routine overnight observation rather than clinical need, and only 65% of cases had day-case planning documented by the surgeon (75% by the anaesthetist). Presented at the NLaG Surgical Audit Meeting, Grimsby.
Day-case surgery means the patient goes home the same day. The standard reflects evidence that patients recover as well at home, while bed pressure and infection risk fall.
The unit met the standard, but most of the remaining overnight stays were a matter of process rather than patient complexity.