The impact of the enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programme on community nursing.

Early discharge from hospital as a result of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programmes can be both positive and frightening experiences for surgical patients. In a recently published article by the authors in the British Journal of Nursing, participants described mixed reactions to the ERAS programme, highlighting the period of home convalescence as being particularly challenging. In this article the concept of ERAS is explained, followed by an overview of the research study which led to the authors highlighting the issue of home convalescence. The interventions that have already been established locally as a result of this research are explored, as is the potential impact that both these short hospital stays and further necessary interventions might have on community nursing. The article examines whether health professionals are sufficiently easing the pressures of self-recoveryto fill the apparent'void' that the study participants described as existing between hospital care and community follow-up.

Patient experiences of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS).

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) is a multimodal pathway whose strong evidence base is changing the methods used to care for patients before, during and after surgery. As a result, patients are being safely discharged at a much earlier stage than has previously been thought possible. Literature concentrates on the surgical and economical benefits of ERAS. There is a lack of research into the patients' perspective of the programme. This study used semi-structured interviews to investigate issues of significance to ERAS patients. The issues were grouped into themes: information provision, inpatient experiences, home recovery experiences (i.e. home convalescence) and psychological and emotional experiences. Although participants reported many good aspects of their ERAS experience, the findings highlighted the need for improvement particularly with regard to post-discharge support from both community services and hospital follow-up.

Patient warming in surgery and the enhanced recovery.

Perioperative hypothermia is associated with poor outcomes for patients, yet it is preventable in most cases (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), 2011a). NICE guideline 65 (2008) provides clear recommendations for avoiding perioperative hypothermia in surgical patients at each stage of their surgical journey, preoperatively, intraoperatively and postoperatively. This article describes the risks for patients at each of the three stages and disseminates the most recent NICE recommendations on how both patients and health professionals can work together to avoid perioperative hypothermia. The Enhanced Recovery after Surgery programme (ERAS) considers patient warming to maintain perioperative normothermia to be a key component in accelerating patient recovery. This article looks at how the NICE guidelines on inadvertent perioperative hypothermia and the ERAS programme complement each other to successfully and significantly improve patient recovery.

Enhanced recovery after surgery: implications for nurses.

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) is a programme of evidence-based interventions that minimize the body's response to surgical stress. ERAS enables patients to be safely discharged from hospital earlier than previously thought possible. This article examines three aspects of enhanced recovery: improving preoperative counselling, reducing the body's stress response, and reducing pain and promoting comfort. The opportunity for nursing research is discussed in the context of patient experiences.