Abstract
The benefits of nurse led follow-up are well documented in the wider literature and include higher patient satisfaction rates, improved information delivery and quicker discharge rates. Unfortunately there is a paucity of data when it comes to benign gynaecology and the aim of this study was to establish the efficacy of outpatient services offered by an endometriosis specialist nurse compared to standard medical follow up in women undergoing operative laparoscopy for severe endometriosis. Outcome measures included both patient satisfaction and the duration of follow-up until discharge. Our findings highlight that a nurse led service is highly acceptable to patients and leads not only to higher satisfaction rates, but also a reduced duration of follow-up resulting in a significantly more cost effective service without any detriment to the patient.
Highlights
Endometriosis remains a challenging condition to manage and ideally patients with severe endometriosis should be managed in a tertiary referral BSGE (British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy) centre where they will have access to a more holistic and multi-disciplinary approach to their care including contact with an endometriosis clinical specialist nurse (CNS)
The aim of this study was to establish the efficacy of outpatient services offered by an endometriosis CNS, compared to standard medical follow up, in women undergoing operative laparoscopy for severe endometriosis assessing both patient satisfaction and the duration of follow-up until discharge
Materials and methods A prospective cohort study was undertaken on women undergoing operative laparoscopy for severe endometriosis and receiving outpatient follow-up led by either a CNS or a gynaecology specialist registrar
Summary
Endometriosis remains a challenging condition to manage and ideally patients with severe endometriosis should be managed in a tertiary referral BSGE (British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy) centre where they will have access to a more holistic and multi-disciplinary approach to their care including contact with an endometriosis clinical specialist nurse (CNS).The benefits of a nurse led service are numerous and widely documented in the literature, in the medical setting [1,2,3]. The role of the endometriosis nurse is invaluable in the early stages of diagnosis and management, with regards to patient support and counselling [4, 5], but they play a fundamental role in the post-operative period supporting the patient, offering them a readily available port of call and taking them through the treatment pathway to a successful discharge. In this day in age of non-team based medical training, it is very rare for the patient to be seen by the same junior medical member of staff and the continuity of care a endometriosis nurse offers is invaluable. The aim of this study was to establish the efficacy of outpatient services offered by an endometriosis CNS, compared to standard medical follow up, in women undergoing operative laparoscopy for severe endometriosis assessing both patient satisfaction and the duration of follow-up until discharge
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