In this document we examine how day surgery can respondMaking It Happen cover both to the policy needs of hospital administrators and to the surgical care needs of specific patients. We also review the barriers that some countries are experiencing in day-surgery development and explore what needs to be put in place so that day surgery can achieve its full potential.

An understanding of the scope of day surgery is of critical importance for health policy makers. An expansion of day surgery will have profound implications for the design of health facilities and the composition of the health care workforce.