Medics from the district have been showing their foreign cousins how it should be done.

A surgery team from Airedale General Hospital at Steeton have been in Seville, Spain, to demonstrate how to make the prospect of an operation a better experience. They explained to fellow medics from 15 other countries how they managed to make sure most operations were done as day case surgery.

Up to 75 per cent of all surgery at the hospital is processed the same day.

It means patients have operations ranging from general surgery and gynaecological procedures to ear, nose and throat and dental operations and need not stay overnight. The team in Seville demonstrated specifically how the procedure was carried out in relation to keyhole bladder surgery. The team, which attended the sixth international congress on ambulatory surgery, was led by surgeon Dibyendu Banerjee and included Sister Ann Deery and infection control nurse, Samantha Moorehouse.

Mr Banerjee said: "It was a unique opportunity for us to present the effective one day case surgery and the audience appreciated the high standard of service. We also had the chance to gather information from presenters all over the world for further development of our unit."

Explaining the procedure, Sherie Herpe, the hospital's day care service facilitator, said patients were assessed before surgery to ensure they could be treated in the same day.

"The patients who are able to do this have told us they are really happy with the service, the way they are treated and information they are given about their surgery," she said.

The day surgery unit is on Ward 18 and is open between 7.30am and 8pm.

The procedure has been so successful, that in a survey of patients earlier this year, it scored nine out of ten for all aspects of care, including whether the ward was clean and tidy.

The survey also took into account the amount of information given, the opportunity to ask questions and the attention by staff to patients' problems and needs and whether relatives were kept informed.

A Department of Health spokesman said the NHS plan recognised that day surgery was an "excellent" model of care. The Healthcare Commission report said it provided very efficient use of facilities and enabled patients to recover in the comfort of their homes without the stress of being on a ward with acutely ill patients.