Medical Oncologist
CION Cancer Clinics
What to check about the operating theatre and ICU | CION Cancer Clinics
Before a cancer operation, check three things about the hospital: whether a doctor is physically in the building all night, whether the ICU is staffed round the clock by people who know what to watch for after your operation, and whether blood is on site. The theatre matters, but it is rarely the weak point. This page gives you the questions, who to ask them of, and the one answer that should stop you booking. CION Cancer Clinics’ surgical oncologists in Hyderabad can talk this through with you.
MI
Medically reviewed by Dr. Mohammed ImaduddinConsultant Surgical Oncologist · MBBS, MS (General Surgery), MCh (Surgical Oncology) · last reviewed September 2026, next review due September 2027
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On this page
- What should you check about a hospital before a cancer operation?
- What should you ask about the ICU?
- What can you check about the operating theatre?
- How do you check all this without being a doctor?
- Four things families tell us, and what is actually true
- What this page cannot tell you
- Common questions about checking a hospital before surgery
The short answer
What should you check about a hospital before a cancer operation?
Check three things: whether a doctor is physically in the hospital all night, whether the ICU is staffed round the clock by people who know what to watch for after your operation, and whether there is blood on site. The theatre matters too, but theatres are rarely the weak point. The nights afterwards are.
Why the ICU matters more than the theatre
Most serious harm after a major cancer operation does not happen on the table. It happens on the second or third night, when a bleed, a leak from a join inside the body, or a chest infection starts quietly. A well-run ICU notices the early signs and acts. A poorly staffed one notices in the morning.
What a theatre check is really for
You cannot judge a theatre by looking at it, and you will not be shown it anyway. What you can ask is whether the hospital has a dedicated cancer theatre list, whether the anaesthetist is a consultant who works with this surgeon regularly, and what equipment is on site for the operation proposed.
Ask these questions at the patient services desk and on the ward, not only of the surgeon. Compare the answers.The ICU
What should you ask about the ICU?
Four questions. Each has a plain answer, and a hospital that does major surgery regularly will give it without hesitation.
Who is there at night?
Ask whether a doctor trained in intensive care is physically in the ICU overnight, or whether the night is covered by a junior doctor with a consultant on the phone. Only one of them can act on a bleed at three in the morning.
How many nurses per bed?
An ICU nurse should be looking after one or two patients, not four. A nurse watching four beds will miss the first hour of a change, and that is the hour that matters.
The number to ask for is nurses per patient at night, not in total.Will I go to the ICU as a plan, or only if something goes wrong?
For a long operation, a planned night in the ICU is normal and is a good sign. Ask whether that is the plan for your operation, and whether a bed is booked in advance.
Can the ICU do what my operation may need?
For a chest or belly operation, ask whether the ICU can support breathing with a ventilator and whether it can manage a kidney that stops working for a while. Not every ICU can.
Ask specifically
- Ventilator support on site
- Dialysis on site or by arrangement
- Who decides on a transfer, and where to
Not sure whether this applies to you?
Ask an oncologistThe theatre
What can you check about the operating theatre?
- A consultant anaesthetist who works with this surgeon regularly
- A regular cancer surgery list, not an occasional case fitted in
- A frozen section service, so the pathologist can check a margin during the operation
- A blood bank on site, with your blood group matched before the day
- The specific equipment your operation needs, named by the surgeon
- A recovery area staffed until you are awake and stable
- A written plan for what happens if the operation is longer than expected
- Infection control the ward can describe, not only a certificate on the wall
In one visit
How do you check all this without being a doctor?
Ask the surgeon the clinical questions
Whether a planned ICU stay is expected, which anaesthetist, what equipment the operation needs and whether it is on site. Write the answers down. These are questions the surgeon answers every week.
Ask the desk the staffing questions
Whether a doctor is resident overnight, the nurse-to-patient ratio in the ICU at night, and whether there is a blood bank. The patient services desk deals with these daily and has no reason to dress them up.
Ask a nurse on the ward
If you can, ask a ward nurse who they call at night when a patient changes, and how long it takes for someone to come. Nurses give the most honest answer in the building.
Compare the three answers
If the surgeon, the desk and the ward all describe the same night cover, believe it. If they describe three different arrangements, the real one is probably the ward's, and you should ask the surgeon to explain the gap before you book.
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The answer that should stop you
If nobody can tell you who is physically in the hospital overnight after a major operation, do not book a major operation there until someone can. A consultant "available on call" is not the same as a doctor in the building. This is the single question most families never ask, and it is the one the evidence on hospital outcomes keeps pointing at.
Commonly believed
Four things families tell us, and what is actually true
"A hospital with an ICU sign has an ICU."
A room with monitors is not an intensive care unit. What makes it one is a trained doctor and enough nurses, all night. Ask about the people, not the room.
"Going to the ICU after surgery means something went wrong."
For a long cancer operation, a planned night or two in the ICU is normal and is a sign of careful care. It means you are watched closely while the risk is highest. Ask beforehand whether it is planned, so that the family is not frightened on the day.
"An accreditation certificate proves the hospital is safe."
Accreditation means the hospital met a standard on the day it was inspected. It does not tell you who is on the floor tonight. Ask the staffing question anyway.
"The surgeon is so good that the hospital does not matter."
The surgeon is in the theatre for a few hours. The hospital has you for days. A complication caught at midnight is a problem. The same one found at the morning round can be a tragedy, and that is a hospital question, not a surgeon question.
Being straight with you
What this page cannot tell you
It cannot tell you that a hospital with good answers will have a good result in your case, and it cannot tell you whether you need the operation. It gives you the questions that separate a hospital where major surgery is routine from one where it is occasional. The decision about surgery belongs to the team treating you.
Who this checklist does not suit
For a short day-care operation with a simple recovery, most of the ICU questions do not apply, and a nearer hospital with a trained surgeon may be the better choice. For an emergency, there is no time for any of it, and the nearest capable hospital is the right one.
If you are travelling from a district
Families from Adilabad, Nalgonda or Mahbubnagar often choose a Hyderabad hospital for the operation and worry about the journey back if something goes wrong at home. Ask, before you book, who you call from home at night, and whether a hospital nearer to you has agreed to see you if needed.
We do not rank named hospitals. Ask every centre the same questions and compare the answers yourself.Questions we are asked
Common questions about checking a hospital before surgery
Can I ask to see the ICU before booking?
You can ask, and some hospitals will show a family member the unit from the door. Many will not, for infection reasons, and that refusal is not a bad sign. What you can always do is ask the staffing questions at the desk and on the ward.
What does "consultant on call" actually mean?
It means the senior doctor is at home and can be phoned. Someone junior is in the building and decides whether to phone. For a major operation, ask how senior the doctor in the building is, and how quickly the consultant can arrive at night.
Do all cancer operations need an ICU?
No. Many breast, skin and smaller operations are done as day-care or with one night on an ordinary ward. Long operations on the chest, belly, head and neck usually involve a planned ICU stay. Ask your surgeon which kind yours is, and plan the hospital questions accordingly.
Is a government hospital ICU as safe as a private one?
It can be, and large government cancer centres often have very experienced ICU teams because they see so many patients. The trade-off is usually crowding and waiting, not skill. Ask the same questions there that you would ask anywhere: who is in the building at night, and how many nurses per bed.
What if the hospital has no blood bank?
Ask where blood comes from and how long it takes to arrive at night. For a small operation this may be acceptable. For a major one, where bleeding is a known risk, blood that is an hour away is a real problem. Ask whether your blood has been matched and reserved before the day.
Should I ask about infection rates?
You can, though few hospitals in India publish them. A more useful question is what the ward does to prevent infection: hand washing, how wounds are dressed, whether visitors are limited. A ward that can describe its routine in detail usually follows it.
Who decides when I leave the ICU?
The intensive care doctor and your surgeon together, based on your breathing, blood pressure, pain control and blood tests. It is not a fixed number of nights. Ask the family to expect the stay to be longer or shorter than first said, and to ask each morning what the team is waiting for.
Will CION answer these questions about its own centres?
Yes. Ask the helpline or the desk at any centre who is in the building overnight, how the ICU is staffed at night and where blood comes from, and you will get a plain answer for the operation being discussed. We would rather you asked every centre the same questions than took anyone's word, including ours.
Meet the Specialists
17+ senior cancer specialists. One panel for your case.
Trained at AIIMS, Tata Memorial, and leading international centres. Combined 150+ years of experience. Every complex case is reviewed by 3+ of them — together.
Medical Oncologist
Dr. C. Raghavendra Reddy
MBBS(Gold Medal), DNB(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Gold Medal)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Bharati Devi Gorantla
MBBS, MD(General Medicine), DM(Medical Oncology)(Adyar,Chennai), ECMO, MRCP SCE(UK)
Medical Oncologist
Dr. Owais Mohammed
MBBS, MD (General Medicine), DrNB (Medical Oncology), ECMO, MRCP SCE (Medical Oncology) (UK)
Medical Oncologist
Medical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Muralidhar Muddusetty
MBBS (AIIMS), MS (Surgery) (AIIMS), DNB (Surgical Oncology), MRCS (Edinburgh)
Surgical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Vinay Mamidala
MBBS, MS(General Surgery), M.Ch(Surgical Oncology), FMAS, FARIS(Ongoing)
Surgical Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Radiation Oncologist
Hematologist
Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Vajja Sandeep Kumar
MBBS, MS (General Surgery), DrNB (Surgical Oncology), FALS Oncology
Surgical Oncologist
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Sources
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- Cancer Research UK — Surgery for cancer
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- National Cancer Institute — Surgery to treat cancer
This page is general information, not a prescription. Do not change or stop any treatment based on what you read here. If anything is worrying you, contact your own treating team — or call our helpline and we will help you reach the right specialist.
Keep reading
Related pages
24-hour cover after surgeryThe overnight question in fullBlood bank availability: why it mattersWhat to ask if there is no blood bank on siteWhy surgeon and hospital volume matterWhy the hospital half of the question matters as much as the surgeonICU and the first days after surgeryWhat a planned ICU stay is actually likeComplications and red flagsWhat the night team is watching for
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Want help working out what your operation needs?
Send us the reports you have. An oncologist will tell you whether the operation being proposed usually involves an ICU stay and which hospital questions matter most for it. One helpline serves every CION centre.