An innovative unit at West Suffolk Hospital which offers fast paced care to seriously ill patients is expected to see a record 5,000 people during its third year, providing much-needed relief for the trust’s busy A&E staff.
Medical teams in the ambulatory emergency care (AEC) hub can rapidly assess and treat patients suffering from a range of acute health issues, including chest pain, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, pneumonia and asthma, allowing those who don’t need to be admitted to hospital to go home on the same day with ongoing clinical support if needed.
This eases the pressure on West Suffolk Hospital’s emergency department and inpatient wards. On June 24 this year, 241 patients attended A&E - the highest ever in one day.
Opening within the hospital’s acute medical centre in 2014, the AEC team has seen the number of patients increase year on year, almost month on month.
Dr Elizabeth Hamilton, acute medical consultant and ambulatory care lead at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The AEC sees around 2,500 patient attendances a year, of which less than 10% are admitted into a hospital bed. This saves the beds for our most vulnerable patients, but most importantly allows as many of our patients as possible to go home on the same day they arrive.
“We have been actively developing the service over the last six months, with new initiatives including accepting referrals from the emergency department and improving referrals and communication with our local GPs. As a consequence, we are now seeing nearly 500 patient attendances a month, and are predicted to see over 5,000 in 2017.”
Debs Crelly, deputy general manager for general and emergency medicine at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, said the AEC hub was a “calming, light and friendly space” to be treated in.
Hannah Turner, 19, from Bury St Edmunds, received care at the unit.
She said: “My mum and I had never heard of the AEC unit until I was referred here. The staff have been so friendly, and explained everything that was happening so I was never unsure. It seems really efficient here, and my mum has been able to stay with me the whole time which is great. Waiting in the emergency department reception can be a bit daunting, seeing other patients rushed in, but here I’m less worried. I feel really well looked after and important, not like I was wasting the staff’s time, which is something you can worry about as a patient.”
In the future, there are plans for the AEC unit to join with the surgical assessment team, creating a larger acute assessment hub next to the emergency department and increasing the type of conditions it can monitor.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here