HEALTH : Day patients feel cheated

Day surgery patients may be sent home before they feel ready and without adequate care to recover at home, according to Which? magazine. While most patients are happy, a significant number feel they have been cast adrift while still feeling unwell.

Half of all planned operations across the UK - more than 2 million per year are now carried out as day surgery. But one in 10 patients surveyed said they would have preferred a night in hospital and only 20 per cent said they were offered a choice between day surgery and an overnight stay.

t Which? Subscriptions, Consumers Association, PO Box 44, Hertford SG14 1SH. Glenda Cooper