The next phase of the Chesterfield Royal Hospital’s Emergency Department (ED) expansion project is now complete and was opened to patients on Monday 15 January.
The Royal will continue to work together with DHU Health Care CIC (DHU) in providing a service to give patients presenting to ED faster, more appropriate care and will now have a purpose built space in which to carry this out.
The Orthopaedic reception area has already been moved next to the Fracture Clinic Outpatient Suite 8 and the vacated space has been remodelled. This has helped to provide three consulting rooms and a reception area to provide a place where patients are initially streamed to either primary care or ED.
Sue Wootton, ED matron, said: “The aim is to split the admissions appropriately between those that need emergency care and those who would benefit better from a primary care service. Previously this service had to operate out of cubicles within our main ED and the children’s play area but this new development will provide a dedicated space where these patients can receive treatment.
“An experienced nurse will carry out a brief assessment on each patient as they arrive and decide whether or not the patient needs immediate emergency care. If their reason for presenting is assessed as being more suited to a primary care consultation then they will be streamed to primary care where they will be seen by one of our DHU colleagues.
“The purpose of this is to ensure that those who need emergency care will be seen faster and that all patients who attend will receive appropriate care more quickly. Providing a bespoke area for this to take place allows us to make that distinction much clearer and make better use of the space that we have.”
The streaming service has been based at the Royal since 2013 and has been providing extended hours seven-day streaming services since July 2017 making it one of the first to introduce additional hours services ahead of the national target of October 2017.
The ED team will continue to work with DHU to ensure that each patient is effectively assessed as quickly as possible. The streaming service delivered by DHU will always have at least one GP, one advanced practitioner and one healthcare assistant employed by DHU to support the service which operates seven days a week, 8am until 11pm.
Dr Aqib Bhatti, clinical director of DHU Urgent Care Derbyshire, providers of the streaming services at the Royal, said: “The new waiting area and treatment environment is a vast improvement for staff and patients alike. The improved facilities will result in a better experience for people assessed as not needing immediate emergency treatment and therefore a more appropriate use of precious ED resource, especially important during these times of increased pressure on NHS services.”
This work is part of a larger project due to be completed in June 2018, expanding the existing ED by approximately fifty per cent. In the interim period the streaming area, although fully operational, needs to be closed off at one end whilst work is carried out on the front, ‘blue-light’ ED entrance. Completion of this will mark the end of the redevelopment and result in patient access to the streaming area being opened up at both ends.
