I was invited to write this article after I gave a talk about setting up a preoperative assessment clinic. If you're facing the daunting task of providing a new service in your primary or secondary care job I hope that you'll find something useful here. Before I begin I'll repeat the confession that I made when I gave my talk. I am not an expert. In fact I have had little experience setting up new clinics. What I have done here is distil the experience of colleagues from around the country with whom I have had the pleasure of talking. These are their words.