Flexible IONM Support to Meet High Spinal Surgery Demand
The Challenge
Oxford University Hospitals run a large in-house Neurophysiology service covering the majority of Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring (IONM) needs for its busy spinal surgery programme. However, the sheer volume of cases, combined with staff absences and competing departmental priorities, meant that some surgical lists risked going ahead without the necessary monitoring support. This created pressure on scheduling, with the potential for costly cancellations and delays.
“Great experience with MediServices – very friendly, responsive, always available and happy to go the extra mile to organise anything last minute if needed. You have contributed to the smooth running of our service and helped to get our patients through the door.”
Eva Meszarosova, Service Manager, Spinal Service, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The Solution
MediServices was brought in to work alongside Oxford’s IONM and spinal surgery teams, providing flexible, on-demand theatre support whenever in-house capacity was stretched. This included:
Stepping in at short notice to cover scheduled and emergency cases
Providing IONM for extended surgical lists and weekend sessions
We collaborated closely with both the neurophysiology and spinal departments to understand case mix, theatre schedules and specific monitoring requirements. Our team was able to mobilise quickly, integrate with surgical and anaesthetic teams, and ensure that patient safety remained the priority regardless of the complexity or timing of the case.
The Results
No List Cancellations: By covering short-notice and emergency cases, we helped ensure surgeries went ahead as planned.
Extended Theatre Capacity: Our weekend and extended-day coverage increased patient throughput without overburdening in-house teams.
Sustained Partnership: We have now supported Oxford’s IONM service for more than two years, providing consistent, governance-led delivery.
Conclusion
By providing rapid-response IONM cover across two hospital sites, MediServices has helped Oxford meet its high spinal surgery demand, prevent list cancellations and maintain exceptional patient safety standards. This case highlights the value of flexible, well-governed theatre partnerships in safeguarding surgical outcomes.
MediServices Healthcare continuously strives to uphold an excellent standard of service.
Led by our Non-Executive Director – Governance, our clinical governance committee ensures that the quality of all services is continually monitored and reviewed.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
