After discharge from the recovery room, you are transported to a ward. This may be a regular ward, where you will spend at least one night. The length of time spend in the hospital ward varies according to the severity and length of your operation, and to a certain extent the complexity of anaesthesia.

Alternatively, you may be taken to a day ward, where you spend only a few hours before going home. Many procedures (up to 70 per cent in some countries) are now performed on a day-stay basis, with the patient staying in the hospital or clinic for less than 24 hours. Not all procedures are suitable for discharge home so soon, especially major operations involving surgery on the brain, or within the chest or abdominal cavities, or surgery requiring continuous intravenous or epidural pain relief, such as after total hip replacement.

No matter how long you stay, the nurses will ensure that you are continuing to follow the expected course of recovery from your anaesthetic and operation.