Surgical Assessment Unit (SAU) - For Clinicians

To make a referral to SAU contact the Ops Centre on 0117 4140700 

Download :

• General Surgery Algorithms - Route of admission.pdf606.87 KB
• Urology Algorithms.pdf857.73 KB

Common surgical Problems:

• Gallbladder problems. We are currently involved in a quality improvement project to try and improve treatment of patients who require urgent surgery.
• Pancreatitis
• Problems that might require emergency abdominal surgery (emergency laparotomy) such as bowel obstruction or perforation. We are involved in a quality improvement project to improve outcomes from emergency laparotomy. We are also working on a project looking at frailty in patients undergoing emergency laparotomy. 
• Rectal bleeding. Most patients with bleeding do not require admission to hospital.
• Appendicitis
• Diverticulitis (inflammatory condition of large bowel)
• Non-specific abdominal pain. We see a lot of patients with abdominal pain where we do not find a specific cause. Our intention is to exclude a serious cause for the pain by performing investigations. If no cause is found, the treatment is pain killers and reassurance.

Common Urological problems:

• Renal Colic
• Haamaturia (blood in urine)
• Urinary retention
• Obstructed kidneys

Common vascular problems:

• Acute, or acute on chronic, limb ischaemia
• Symptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm- if there is concern regarding rupture patient must be assessed in ED resus first
• Symptomatic carotid stenosis
• Acute diabetic foot problems (ischaemia and/or infection)
• Proximal upper or lower limb DVT for lysis
• False aneurysm (IVDU or post cardiology procedure)
• Readmission for wound complication following arterial surgery

Please note:

• Renal access complications admitted via renal team
• Acute dissection admitted to CCU or ICU jointly with Cardiology