Until recently, the standard of care in the UK for women requiring non-reconstructive breast cancer surgery (i.e. mastectomy or wide local excision with or without any axillary surgery) was for in-patient admission, the duration of which was dictated by the routine use of wound drains. Despite the demonstrable benefits associated with reducing length of stay and same day discharge being a breast peer review outcome, national variation in duration of admission persists. The challenge in reducing this and standardising care requires an understanding of health professional misperceptions and service organisation issues preventing demonstrably safe change to clinical practice that patient feedback confirms is associated with a good experience of care.

Attendance at this conference, which has been produced by the British Association of Day Surgery, will enable delegates to develop a day case management pathway for patients requiring breast surgery. The basic elements of a day surgery pathway will be presented including the evaluation of the quality of care provided. Specific details of multi-disciplinary care specific to breast surgery management will be presented by acknowledged experts in the field from a variety of backgrounds, reflecting the importance of the multi-disciplinary team in a successful delivery of day surgery care for these patients.