We are delighted to announce that our new Ambulatory Emergency Care (AEC) Unit has opened and received its first patient.
The AEC has fast become an essential hospital service, providing same day care for people who may otherwise need to be admitted, and also helping patients leave hospital earlier.
The unit has proved to be incredibly successful since being established approximately six years ago, with patients numbers increasing from 90 patients in January 2014, to 635 patients in January 2020. It routinely prevents around 20 admissions every day.
The Unit provides a range of important services, including intravenous antibiotics to treat severe bacterial infections, offering access to early diagnostics (tests) and monitoring/taking bloods.
With such demand the service outgrew its original space. Work began in March this year to develop a much larger, purpose built unit just metres from the original location. The new unit was opened to patients on Christmas Eve. The new AEC has more than twice as many patient cubicles (11 compared to five) and will offer more services, with the team now having their own procedures room where certain minor surgical procedures can be carried out.
The Unit’s Lead Practitioner, Les Reed, said: “This is exactly the gift the AEC team were hoping for. The new unit gives us the space, and the equipment to care for even more patients, helping them avoid an admission to hospital or get home sooner than before.
“We’re looking forward to developing the team in the New Year so we can make the most of this bespoke new space and offer a greater range of treatments and procedures.”
Click here to take a virtual tour of our new AEC with Les.
Categorised in: Trust news and events
This post was written by Communications Team
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