Wye Valled NHS Trust has opened a same-day-care facility to help to transform non-elective care for patients.
The new clinical area at Hereford County Hospital, based next to the Emergency Department, hopes to reduce the number of emergency patients who may have otherwise been admitted.
It’s been supported by a £2 million government grant on the back of rising numbers of patients arriving at the Emergency Department.
Before funding was explored, the trust trialled the approach on a temporary basis to prove its effectiveness.
James Bartlett, Consultant Acute Physician, commented: “The dedicated SDEC facility will mean that patients presenting at the hospital with certain conditions can be rapidly assessed, diagnosed and treated without being admitted to a ward, and, if clinically safe to do so, will return home the same day their care is provided.
“In a nutshell, this new facility will help us to ensure patients are in the right emergency/urgent care setting very quickly which will mean a better experience for patients and a more efficient flow of patients at the hospital.”
The trust said: “The key benefit the facility brings is the ability to ‘stream’ patients as soon as they turn up at the Emergency Department. This means getting patients to the most appropriate place for their treatment straight away, following a rapid clinical evaluation.”
James, added: “This is a proven model which will allow us to take huge strides forward in the way we deliver care to non-elective patients and improve our patients’ experiences.
“It’s taken a huge amount of effort in a very short space of time and I’d like to thank our staff, our PFI partner, Sodexo, and the contractors who have had to work in difficult circumstances allowing all our services to run as normal during the construction period while also in the middle of a pandemic.”
