Prioritisation of outpatient appointments and elective surgery in gynaecology

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to be a global public health concern. It has posed a multitude of challenges from managing the supply chain of personal protective equipment (PPE), reducing the spread of the virus through national restrictions, disrupting the routine delivery of healthcare services to now the race in developing novel treatments and vaccines. As the National Health Service (NHS) considers a phased restoration of non-emergency services, it is imperative to consider the high volume of patients awaiting specialist reviews and surgical procedures. Gynaecology services have to be prioritised according to the patients’ clinical needs rather than their individual waiting times. In this chapter, we look at the varying aspects of prioritising non-emergency gynaecology care, including outpatient appointments and elective surgery, how innovative pathways have evolved in response to necessity, what some of the barriers have been to implement these and how this has overall impacted on individual gynaecological specialties.