Perioperative anaemia service

What is the perioperative anaemia service?

We are a team of nurses working with patients who are going to (or likely to) have surgery. You'll be referred to us if you're found to be anaemic in the lead up to your surgery.

Anaemia comes in many different forms, and different treatments are required depending on your diagnosis and the length of time until surgery. We know that being anaemic increases your risks in surgery, makes it more likely you’ll need blood transfusion, and can result in a slower recovery.

We are a growing service and currently treat around 1000 patients a year across multiple specialties, normally in preparation for major surgery.

Around 30% of patients are found to be anaemic prior to surgery.

What is anaemia?

Anaemia is a condition where there are not enough red blood cells to carry oxygen around in the body. This is often caused by the body not having enough iron stores or losing too much iron to make new red cells to replace those that are lost.

How will I be treated?

Depending on the cause of your anaemia you may require different support. In most cases we can treat anaemia with iron either in tablet form or by an intravenous infusion prior to surgery.

However, you may require medication to help your body to produce appropriate red blood cells from the iron in your body. This usually involves an injection for a few weeks (Darbepoetin alfa) or through B vitamin supplements.

We will contact you if we feel you would benefit from our support and arrange the treatment with you. If we advise the intravenous option, it takes around one to two hours to complete the process. This is generally a very safe and effective treatment.

It can take up to three weeks after an iron infusion for it to improve your anaemia, in some cases you may require more than one infusion.

Contact us

Email perioperativeanaemia@uhs.nhs.uk
Office telephone 01590 663144
Clinic telephone 01590 663145