Revolutionising Perioperative Care: Q&A with Simon Rang and Michelle Rose
At Digital Health Rewired 2025, Dr Simon Rang and Michelle Rose will share insights into how East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) is transforming perioperative care. They’ll highlight the use of innovative digital tools, including Graphnet’s CIPHA Population Health Platform, and discuss the elective recovery and prehabilitation project in Kent. Here’s a sneak peek into their groundbreaking work.
Q: Can you tell us about the current challenges in perioperative care?
Dr Simon Rang: The ageing population and an increase in comorbidities are putting significant pressure on perioperative services. Many patients awaiting surgery haven’t seen a healthcare professional in over 18 months due to limited access to primary care. This makes preoperative assessment (POA) clinics a critical point of contact. To meet these challenges, we’ve had to rethink how we assess and prepare patients for surgery, ensuring fair access and effective resource allocation.
Michelle Rose: It’s also about addressing broader health inequalities. Vulnerable patients are often the most impacted by delays in care. Our goal is to ensure these individuals are identified and optimised early in their pathway, reducing the risk of complications and postponements.
Q: What role has Graphnet’s CIPHA Population Health Platform played in addressing these issues?
Dr Simon Rang: The platform, introduced in March 2024, has been transformative. It automates risk stratification and triage for day surgery patients awaiting POA. By integrating surgical waiting list data with primary care records, it gives clinicians a complete view of each patient’s health, enabling instant identification of high- and low-risk individuals.
Michelle Rose: This shifts the focus from reactive to proactive care. Instead of managing a dormant waiting list, we now have an active one. Patients can be optimised earlier in their pathway, reducing the risk of last-minute surgery cancellations and improving outcomes overall.
Q: What specific outcomes have you achieved with this platform?
Dr Simon Rang: The results have been excellent. For surgical day cases, we’ve seen a 27% reduction in preoperative consultation times—from 30 minutes to an average of 22 minutes. This efficiency allows us to see more patients and focus our resources where they’re most needed.
Michelle Rose: The digital risk stratification tool also enhances productivity. It identifies high-risk patients, ensuring they’re seen in combined nurse and consultant clinics. Meanwhile, low-risk patients can be triaged quickly and efficiently. These efficiencies align with the national five core requirements for Anaesthetic and Perioperative Medicine (APOM).
Q: How does this innovation support the wider healthcare system?
Dr Simon Rang: One of the platform’s biggest strengths is its ability to “Make Every Contact Count.” It helps us identify patients who would benefit from additional health interventions, such as community-based health promotion services, while waiting for surgery. This is especially important for tackling health inequalities.
Michelle Rose: Collaboration is key. We’re now working with Kent Community Health Foundation Trust to extend the benefits of this approach. By understanding our population better, we can tailor services to meet their needs, ensuring fair access for the most vulnerable patients.
Q: What’s next for the perioperative service at EKHUFT?
Dr Simon Rang: Scaling up. We’re planning to expand the use of the platform to include all patients referred to our pre-surgical preparation service. This will allow us to automate medical screening and triage across the board, further improving efficiency and outcomes.
Michelle Rose: We’re also focusing on integrating prehabilitation more comprehensively into the pathway. This means not just preparing patients for surgery but optimising their overall health, which has long-term benefits for recovery and quality of life.
Q: What can attendees expect from your session at Digital Health Rewired 2025?
Dr Simon Rang: We’ll share how we’ve implemented the Population Health Platform and discuss the challenges and lessons learned. Attendees will gain insights into using digital tools to drive elective recovery, improve perioperative outcomes, and address health inequalities.
Michelle Rose: It’s an opportunity to see how technology, combined with clinical leadership, can transform care delivery. We’ll also explore the broader implications for other trusts looking to adopt similar innovations.
Don’t Miss This Session
Join Dr Simon Rang and Michelle Rose at Digital Health Rewired 2025 to learn how digital innovation is reshaping perioperative care in Kent and beyond.
For session details and registration, visit the Digital Health Rewired website.
