Why pay more than you need to?

• Patients receive treatment that is suited to their needs and which allows them to recover in their own home. Cancellation of surgery due to emergency pressures in a dedicated day surgery unit is unlikely. The risk of hospital acquired infection is reduced.
• Clinicians can provide high quality care for appropriate patients, and release inpatient beds for more major cases."

The major benefit is that of lower cost

The cost for procedures performed in a day clinic is substantially lower when compared to a general hospital. This is mainly due to the difference in the infrastructure and staffing requirements.

General hospitals generally offer a wide variety of disciplines that similarly requires a wider variety of technology and equipment. Theatre complexes are equipped for more complex types of surgery (e.g. heart surgery, orthopaedic surgery) compared to day clinic theatres.

Furthermore, within a general hospital, nursing staff with qualifications in various types of medicine are required, therefore increasing the staff compliment. For instance, nurses with qualifications in emergency medicine, intensive care, surgery, operating theatre nursing, maternity, paediatrics, medical nursing etc., form part of the staff compliment, whereas day clinics require trained nursing staff in only the range of disciplines offered by the clinics. A day clinic’s staff compliment is therefore less cost intensive.

Although same day procedures do not require nursing after hours, within a general hospital, the overall nursing requirements impacts on the cost of offering same day procedures.