Patient information leaflet
Guidance for adults
A patient information leaflet is available. Download a copy of Information about fasting before a general anaesthetic (PDF 72KB) [see how to access PDF files].
Guidance on use of the leaflet
Patients can receive this leaflet alongside other operation information, which they are assumed to receive before admission for an elective surgical procedure.
It is likely that the operation list will not be finalised at this stage and final operating times for the patient’s operation will be known the morning of the operation. Therefore the information provided in this leaflet informs the patient of general principles outlined in the perioperative fasting guideline.
The NHS trust specific advice box is available for the trust to insert specific information to ensure patients are appropriately fasted before admission. Pre-admission, this advice favours those patients first on the list.
After admission, when further information is available on expected operating times for individual patients, patients can be fasted appropriately within the guidance.
A trust decision will need to be made on how best to use this leaflet. It is suggested that if you have discrete morning and afternoon lists, that you have separate versions of the patient leaflet, so the patient is clear about their own fasting time. For all day lists this is likely to be as if it were a morning list.
The following text is suggested
Until the time of your operation is known, please adhere to the following guidelines on the day of your operation:
- Do not eat any food including sweets or chewing gum, or drink any milk from <insert time 6 hours before the list start time e.g. 2am for 8am list start>.
- Do not drink any fluids including water from <insert time 2 hours before the list start time e.g. 6am for 8am list start>.
This leaflet could also be made available on the wards to patients for general information about fasting.