About us...

The organisation for health professionals working in the preoperative field

The Preoperative Association (POA) is a medical specialist society with over 550 members providing guidance, training and setting national standards for inter-professional healthcare teams involved in preoperative assessment and preparation of surgical patients. Improving the standard of care delivered to patients undergoing surgical procedures. 

The specialist society, formed in 2004 is open to all with an interest in promoting best practice for patient care in the preoperative assessment and preparation for surgery. It has since grown as an Association, and is now a registered charity. It offers a wide range of membership benefits and educational training courses and conferences, which are led by national and international experts in the field of Preoperative Assessment.

The Preoperative Association Board of Trustees meetings take place virtually at least four times per year. The committee leads the development of Preoperative Assessment in the UK, and works alongside the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA), National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE), Centre for Perioperative Care (CPOC) and the National Health Service (NHS) producing national policies and guidelines.

The objects of the POA are:

1. The advancement of education in the science and practice of preoperative assessment and medicine by the conduct of meetings, study days and training events;
2. Establishing and promoting best practice through research, audit and consensus;
3. Contributing and producing evidence-based guidelines to facilitate multi-disciplinary teams working in preoperative assessment.

Any healthcare professional or a lay person, can be a member of the Preoperative Association, resulting in an inclusive and open society. Please see the Membership section for further details.