Identifying and Understanding the Non-Clinical Impacts of Delayed or Cancelled Surgery in Order to Inform Prioritisation Processes: A Scoping Review

Kathryn Jack, Catrin Evans, Louise Bramley, Joanne Cooper, Tracy Keane, Marie Cope and Elizabeth Hendron
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Kathryn Jack: Surgical Division, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottinghamshire NG5 1PB, UK
Catrin Evans: School of Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG7 2RD, UK
Louise Bramley: Surgical Division, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottinghamshire NG5 1PB, UK
Joanne Cooper: Surgical Division, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottinghamshire NG5 1PB, UK
Tracy Keane: Surgical Division, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottinghamshire NG5 1PB, UK
Marie Cope: Surgical Division, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottinghamshire NG5 1PB, UK
Elizabeth Hendron: Surgical Division, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottinghamshire NG5 1PB, UK

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-11

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant delays to non-urgent elective surgery. Decision making regarding prioritisation for surgery is currently informed primarily by clinical urgency. The ways in which decision making should also consider potential social and economic harm arising from surgical delay are currently unclear. This scoping review aimed to identify evidence related to (i) the nature and prevalence of social and economic harm experienced by patients associated with delayed surgery, and (ii) any patient assessment tools that could measure the extent of, or predict, such social and economic harm. A rapid scoping review was undertaken following JBI methodological guidance. The following databases were searched in October 2020: AMED; BNI; CINAHL; EMBASE; EMCARE; HMIC; Medline; PsychINFO, Cochrane, and the JBI. A total of 21 publications were included. The findings were categorised into five themes: (i) employment, (ii) social function and leisure, (iii) finances, (iv) patients’ experiences of waiting, and (v) assessment tools that could inform decision making. The findings suggest that, for some patients, waiting for surgery can include significant social, economic, and emotional hardship. Few validated assessment tools exist. There is an urgent need for more research on patients’ experiences of surgical delay in order to inform a more holistic process of prioritising people on surgical waiting lists in the COVID-19 pandemic recovery stages.

Keywords: delayed surgery; COVID-19; waiting for surgery; elective surgery; surgical cancellation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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