Implementing a ‘Sip Til Send’ policy at a large tertiary referral centre: a quality improvement project

Introduction: Current international preoperative fasting guidelines1 endorsing a 2-h fasting interval for clear fluids have proved to be unworkable in practice, as patients are kept fasting for much longer than this, leading to fluid deprivation, discomfort, increased anxiety, headache, and nausea.2 ‘Sip Til Send’ was pioneered at NHS Tayside, Dundee, in 2021,3 and involves encouraging fasting patients to drink from a small glass of water refilled every hour. We describe the implementation of a Sip Til Send quality improvement initiative at St James’s Hospital (SJH), a large tertiary referral centre in Dublin, Ireland.