Pre Admission Management Service (PreAMS)

PreAMS (Royal Stoke) is situated directly beneath the hospital restaurant, on the ground floor of Main Building; When entering the atrium of the main building, walk towards Lloyds Pharmacy (in the far left corner). Continue straight on; passing the pharmacy and the department will be ahead of you.

PreAMS (County) is situated at the entrance to the Outpatients department; When entering the Main entrance, follow the signs for the Outpatients Department, PreAMS is first department on your left when entering Outpatients (we are opposite the Garden).

Our clinics opening times are;

Royal Stoke 7:30am - 7pm Sunday - Friday

County PreAMS 7.30am - 7pm Monday to Saturday

Please contact us on numbers below and leave an answerphone message and your call will be returned as soon as possible.

Telephone: 01782 676561 (Royal Stoke)

Telephone: 01785 236197 (County)

Prior to your operation it is very important that you have an assessment of your health undertaken by one of the PreAMS team. Your health will be assessed either by telephone, video call or a face to face appointment. You will be assessed by a Senior Staff Nurse / Senior Operating Department Practitioner who specialises in pre-operative assessment. You will be asked about your health, medical and social history, so it may be a good idea to make a note of any information you think will be helpful before you come to clinic including a current up to date list any medication you are currently taking. This includes anything prescribed by your GP or bought over the counter. You may also find it useful to make a note of questions you want to ask.

If your appointment is at Royal Stoke please use the self-check in screens located in the main atrium to book in for your appointment. These screens are similar to those used in many GP surgeries. It will not let you check in any earlier than one hour before your appointment, then please report to the PreAMS reception. ​If your appointment is at County please go straight to the PreAMS reception desk to book in.

On arrival we will ask you if you have a new cough, temperature, loss of taste or smell and take your temperature. All PreAMS team members will be wearing a mask, visor, apron and gloves when in the clinical area to maintain Covid safety, please ensure you frequently use hand sanitiser and wear a mask if not medically exempt

Once booked in we will ask you to wait in the waiting room ensuring you maintain social distancing, people are asked to attend pre-assessment alone however if you require someone to be with you please speak to reception

After your assessment it may be necessary to request further tests before your operation, this will be discussed with you and you will be asked for your agreement to carry out these tests. 

These tests are often carried out before surgery, even for apparently healthy people, to check if you have any medical problems that might need to be treated before your operation or if you’ll need special care during or after the surgery

There are advantages to having preoperative tests, these include:

• Finding out if you are well enough to have an anaesthetic and proposed surgery, and assessing what risks may be involved.
• Helping to ensure you are going to get the best possible treatment
• Identifying medical problems that could be treated or pre-optimised before surgery or that could mean that you need special care to prevent or reduce the risk of having complications when you have the operation.
• Identifying medical problems that may require your treatment to be adapted to prevent or reduce the risk of complications.
• These tests may include screening for MRSA and Covid19, having blood samples taken, recording of your heart trace (ECG) and/or a physical examination where your heart and lungs will be listened to. Please be aware that you may be with us for 2-3 hours, so please consider bringing a drink and/or snack with you. In some cases we may decide that you need a separate appointment to discuss your anaesthetic/surgery with one of the Consultant Anaesthetists. You will be provided with the date for this when you attend the department.

At the end of your consultation you will be given a PreAMS patient information Booklet and other information leaflets relevant to your surgical admission. Please ensure you read these carefully and refer to them in the days leading up to your surgery

We are a teaching hospital and you may be asked if Students can observe or participate under supervision in your assessment. If you do not wish for them to be present then please let us know. This will not affect your treatment in any way if you decline.

We would really appreciate it if you could spare a few minutes following your PreAMS appointment by leaving us feedback on your experience with us

Please click here to go straight to the feedback form

Once you have been given your date for procedure you are required to have a Covid PCR test within 72 hours of surgery at either

Royal Stoke Hospital - located at the rear of the CEC building.

County Hospital - located next to the post graduate medical centre.

14 days before your date of admission you should try to minimise your risk of catching coronavirus by keep your distance from people outside your household or support bubble. You may still go to work if you are unable to work from home.

Members of your household should also follow this guidance during the 14 day period to minimise the risk of passing Covid-19 onto you.

48-72 hrs prior to your hospital admission you are required to have a Covid-19 swab, either at Royal Stoke, located at the rear of the CEC building or County Hospital site located next to the post graduate centre.

After this Test you MUST self-isolate until your admission for your surgery

You should:

• Not leave your house/garden – unless for essential medical care
• Not have any visitors except those who provide essential care
• Make arrangements to have food and medicines delivered to your home

This should lower the risk of being exposed to the virus, failure to follow this advice will mean your operation will have to be cancelled.

Your admission is likely to be postponed if you test positive for COVID-19 or are unwell, this is to reduce the risk of you catching COVID-19.

During these 2 weeks you should contact us on 01782 676561 and  report if there are any new problems such as onset of fever, cough or flu-like illness or loss of taste/smell in yourself or any member of your household.