Outpatient surgery patients receive pre and post-operative care in the Surgical Department. A variety of services can have outpatient (day) surgery procedures:

• General Surgery

• Endoscopy

• Urology

• Ophthalmology

• Gynecology

What should I do to prepare for my surgery?

• Have a bath or a shower prior to arriving to the hospital for your surgery.

• Ensure you have removed all makeup, nail polish, and artificial nails.

• Do not drink alcoholic beverages for 24 hours prior to your surgery.

• Do not take any recreational drugs for 48 hours prior to your surgery.

• Do not eat or drink anything after midnight the night before your surgery, unless otherwise advised.

• Ensure that you have arranged transportation & a support person in advance. You are required to have a responsible adult drive you home, as the effects of sedation last past your discharge.

What can I expect on the day of my surgery?

• You are required to report to the registration desk one hour before your surgery.

• Leave all of your valuables at home (jewelry, money, purse).

• If applicable, bring your glasses and/or hearing aids along with their storage containers.

*Do not wear contact lenses for your procedure.*

• Bring your Ontario Health Card with you.

• You will be registered and asked to submit or confirm your insurance information.

• From the registration area, you will proceed to the Surgical Department to prepare for your surgery.

• You will be asked to change into a hospital gown.

• A Nurse will ask a few questions and prepare you for your surgery.

Please bring a list of current medications with you and/or your bubble pack or pill bottles.

Day Surgery Facts:

• All day surgery patients return to the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) area after their surgery for post-operative care and discharge home. Patients who require a longer stay in the hospital return to one of the inpatient units after their surgery.

• All patients must meet a specific set of discharge criteria before they are able to be discharged home. The time you will spend in the PACU depends on what type of surgery you had, what type of anesthesia you had and how you are feeling after surgery.

• This discharge criteria is based on how awake you are, how much pain you are having, and if you are “back to normal”.

• If you are having post-operative pain and/or nausea, you will be given medications for this before discharge from day surgery.

• Post-operative teaching and discharge instructions and follow-up appointments if needed are given to each patient before discharge from day surgery. Your nurse will review them with you before you go home.

The Surgical Department offers post-operative care to patients that have had surgery or are under the care of the general surgeon.

PACU nursing staff, anaesthestists, and surgeons work together to help patients recover from the anaesthesia that was given during surgery. Patients are monitored closely by highly skilled nurses to ensure a successful and faster recovery during the immediate time after surgery. 

Building on the government’s patient safety indicator initiative, The Temiskaming Hospital (TH) is reporting on its surgical safety checklist compliance.

The surgical safety checklist covers the most common tasks and items that an operating room team carries out and has been shown to reduce rates of death and complications among patients. It is a one-page list of items that surgical teams must discuss at three key times:

1.       Before the patient is given anesthesia with all team members present.

2.       Before skin incision.

3.       While all team members are present before closing of the patient.

The Temiskaming Hospital regularly reviews surgical safety checklist data in order to continuously make quality process improvements to achieve the best possible patient outcomes.

Surgical Safety Checklist Public Reporting

Ongoing monitoring and support of the surgical safety checklist process is essential to ensuring proper adherence. All Ontario hospitals that perform surgeries are required to report on their use of the surgical safety checklist to the Ontario Government, and to the public.

Surgical safety checklist rates at TH for 2024-2025 (fiscal year) = 100%