Restoration of Colorectal Services in the Recovery Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A view from Oxford
Abstract BackgroundThe coronavirus pandemic has significantly disrupted the way we deliver healthcare worldwide. We have been flexible and creative in order to continue providing elective colorectal cancer operations and to restart services for benign cases during the recovery period of the pandemic. In this paper, we describe the impact of coronavirus on our elective services and how we have implemented new patient pathways to allow us to continue providing patient care.MethodsData on major colorectal elective resections was prospectively collected in an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) database. Data on the number of proctology cases and telemed appointments were collected from the hospital theatre information management system and electronic patient record system respectively. ResultsDuring the pandemic, there was a complete shift towards cancer cases, with benign services and proctology cases being placed on hold. Hospital length of stay was reduced. We implemented earlier hospital discharge and more intense telephone follow up after elective major surgery. This has not resulted in an increase in post-operative complications, nor any increase in readmission into hospital. During the recovery phase, we have introduced a higher proportion of telemed consultations, including one-stop telemed proctology clinics, resulting in straight to tests or investigations.ConclusionsWe have created a streamlined multi-disciplinary pathway to reinstate our elective colorectal services as soon as possible and to minimise potential harm caused to patients whose treatment have been delayed. We anticipate many of these changes will be permanently incorporated into our clinical practice once the pandemic is over.