Addenbrooke’s Emergency Assessment Unit officially opens |
Addenbrooke’s Hospital’s new Emergency Assessment Unit (EAU) was officially opened on Thursday 29 June 2006 by Professor Sir George Alberti, the national clinical director for emergency access. The £10 million EAU is an exciting project, which represents a shift in the philosophy of caring for acutely ill patients. The unit has been opening area-by-area since the beginning of April, with the aim of concentrating emergency staff and facilities in one place.
Previously, emergency patients would enter the hospital through one of two routes, the Emergency Department or the Medical Assessment Unit, situated at opposite ends of the hospital. The new EAU provides one ‘front door’ for patients where they are assessed by an integrated multi-professional team including doctors, nurses and other staff who make early decisions about treatment and care. This enables the team to decide whether patients can be discharged, managed within the EAU or need a specialist opinion or possible admission to a main hospital ward. The new unit features medical and surgical short-stay wards, an adult Clinical Decisions Unit and a Children’s Observation Unit, improved access to radiology facilities, rapid pathology testing, and rapid access clinic facilities for emergency patients. As well as making the journey through the hospital easier for patients, the unit has many other benefits. The project has allowed a total rethink of the way emergency care is delivered at a time when demand for emergency services is increasing. For example, it has allowed the development of roles such as the emergency nurse practitioners, who assess, treat and discharge patients with minor injuries or minor health problems, a reduction in the average length of stay for patients and overall a more efficient, streamlined service.
Dr Robert Winter, acting chief executive and lead for the EAU project at Addenbrooke’s, said: “We are delighted to welcome Professor Sir George Alberti. The unit has been an important and exciting innovation for us, and is helping us to deliver improved and streamlined emergency care for patients.” Since the one ‘front door’ for emergencies was created when the old Medical Assessment Unit moved to the EAU, an average of 220 patients have been seen every day.
For further information, please contact: PR & Communications, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0QQ Tel: 01223 274433 Fax: 01223 257143 Email: |
|||
|
