Providing the Care that you need-Ambulatory Emergency Care

I’m sure most of you reading this will have heard about “winter pressures” on the news, or read about it in the papers. Winter is a challenging time for hospitals to meet the needs of the population. We typically see an increase in unplanned attendance due to trauma because of falls and accidents associated with weather conditions, but also in medical conditions for people who have long term conditions such as respiratory problems.

We know that people with long term conditions want to avoid unnecessary admissions to hospital and prefer to be supported and able to manage their conditions at home. The North Lanarkshire Health & Social Care Partnership six point journey puts the person at the heart of all decisions made. Two of the journey points are:

• Stop me going in (to hospital or care setting)

• If I go in (to hospital or care setting make it timely and safe)

We have been testing a different approach to the way we provide urgent assessment and care for patients with medical conditions since November 2014.

The Ambulatory Emergency Care Unit provides care for patients referred to hospital urgently by their GP and for patients with certain conditions that present directly to the Emergency Department (A&E). We aim to reduce unnecessary admissions to hospital and provide further priority treatment and follow-up as an outpatient if appropriate.

The Unit which has fourteen beds and seven chairs is open Monday to Friday 9am – 9.30pm. Specialist doctors and nurses provide urgent assessment, diagnosis and treatment.

The Unit has consistently achieved and exceeded the Clinical Quality Indicators of the Society for Acute Medicine since opening:

• Initial assessment is completed within 30 minutes of arrival by a Competent Clinical Decision Maker

• Full assessment and initiation of a management plan by a Senior Decision Maker within four hours of arrival

• Consultant review within 14 hours if admitted to hospital (within six hours if admitted between 8am and 6pm)

This is just one of many changes and improvements we are introducing to enhance our patients’ journey. I am very proud of the efforts of the staff and grateful for the support we have received from you the public during our period of testing.

If you have an experience of the Ambulatory Emergency Care Unit you would like to share please speak to a member of staff, respond on Patient Opinion, or visit the “Your Feedback” Section of the NHS Lanarkshire website to see the other ways to get in touch www.nhslanarkshire.org.uk

For more information on Health and Social Care Partnerships visit the NHS Lanarkshire website via this link: http://www.nhslanarkshire.org.uk/About/HSCP/Pages/newsletters.aspx

Kind regards