New Surgical Same Day Emergency Care at Ysbyty Gwynedd to improve treatment time for people in need of urgent care
A new Surgical Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) Unit at Ysbyty Gwynedd will ensure patients receive the care they need in the right place at the right time.
SDEC is for adult surgical patients who are referred from their GP, or who have been seen and reviewed in the Emergency Department.
The consultant led service will assess, diagnose and treat eligible patients before discharging them home to recover or to wait for further treatment.
Consultant Colorectal Surgeon, Mr Anil Lala, and Clinical Lead for SDEC, said: “Quite a few patients who develop acute tummy pain are referred by their GPs with suspected surgical conditions like acute appendicitis. However, most patients who are referred in with surgical conditions don’t require surgery. These types of patients, after diagnostic tests and assessments by a senior doctor, could be managed at home rather than as an inpatient.
“This unit has been developed to provide efficient consultation for patients who may be concerned about visiting hospital during these uncertain times.
“In the past all the patients referred by their GPs with suspected acute surgical conditions had to travel to a surgical ward within the hospital before they were assessed by a senior doctor. To avoid unnecessary journeys inside the hospital for patients who don’t need hospital admission, this service is now located at the front door of the hospital, next to the Emergency Department.
“As surgeons we would like to see our patients early enough to avoid deterioration in their condition and certainly before it is too late to intervene. We believe this service will help our patients gain easy access for their acute surgical conditions.”
Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Mr Oliver Blocker, who has been supported by the Bevan Commission to introduce the SDEC unit at Ysbyty Gwynedd, said: “I am very proud of the collaborative work that has been done by my colleagues that has enabled us to set up SDEC for our patients.
“The Orthopaedic team’s vision of a Bangor Front Door Trauma service fits in perfectly with this model and I believe we are leading the way nationally with this type of service.
“Patients with musculoskeletal injuries are now receiving an immediate decision on their care with a plan for treatment put in place by a senior consultant at the front door.
“This prevents hospital admissions and also provides timely care for our patients.”
The unit is run by a team of senior nursing and surgical staff who can provide fast-track access to tests and treatments.
Advanced Nurse Practitioner, Arniel Hernando, who has been transferred from Conwy Ward to SDEC says that the unit provides an opportunity for staff from different specialities to learn from each other.
He said: “This is a great opportunity for nurses like myself to be part of a project such as this.
“Patients are seen very quickly and receive their treatment in a timely manner so they can go home on the same day without the need to be admitted into hospital.
“This is really important to us, especially during these times, when we want to reduce the time our patients are spending in hospital.
“As well as seeing the benefits for our patients, I am really looking forward to working with different specialities and learning from each other’s expertise.”
Dr Rhiannon Talbot, Consultant in Emergency Medicine at Ysbyty Gwynedd, says the introduction of the SDEC unit will help to shorten waiting times in the Emergency Department.
She said: “SDEC is an innovative way of treating emergency patients. This hopefully means shorter waiting times for patients after being seen in the ED and earlier specialist input.
“It has also allowed closer working between the Emergency Department and other teams within the hospital, with the common goal of getting the right care to the right patient at the right time.”
Surgical Head of Nursing, Lesley Walsh, added: “I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in the process of setting up SDEC at Ysbyty Gwynedd.
“The main objective is to improve the experience our surgical patients have when they visit our hospital for urgent care.
“SDEC provides the right treatment at the right time, and provides faster access to scans and diagnostics.
“It will also reduce overnight admissions and ensure patients are seen by a specialist who is then able to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment with the aim of being discharged on the same day.”
The service will be delivered Monday to Friday between 8am – 8pm.