Two of Brighton and Hove Albion’s star players, Anthony Knockaert and Bruno, today opened the new Emergency Ambulatory Care Unit (EACU) at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.
The players joined hospital Chief Executive, Marianne Griffiths, to cut the ribbon on the new unit and mark its official opening.
This new combined ambulatory unit is part of A&E and is one of the first in the country where medical and surgical teams work alongside each other to treat emergency patients who do not need to stay in overnight. This allows such patients to move more quickly from initial triage to receiving treatment. It frees up space in A&E and on other wards for patients who are more seriously unwell.
Speaking at the event Marianne said:
“We want our patients to get the best possible treatment. In opening the Emergency Ambulatory Care Unit today we are supporting the efforts of our staff and the care of our patients with significant improvements to the A&E environment. This light and spacious unit increases the overall capacity within A&E. It allows us to develop new, better treatment pathways for many patients and makes it easier to deliver seamless care across the department. It takes pressure off both the A&E front door and our overnight wards.
Steve Barden, lead consultant for the EACU said:
“This combined unit will make a real difference to patients and staff. It allows us to transfer the care of patients between medical and surgical teams as seamlessly as possible, which improves patients’ experience. We can offer treatments to patients on a day case basis who previously would have been admitted, even though they didn’t require 24 hour hospital care. The potential of what we can offer will continue to grow now that the unit is a fully operational part of our Emergency Department.”
The Emergency Ambulatory Care unit has 9 treatment rooms, 6 treatment spaces, 3 procedure rooms, 2 side rooms and an IV therapy area that can accommodate 14 patients. It is the first phase in a broader programme of improvements to A&E at RSCH. The programme will include reconfiguring and expanding other key areas in A&E in due course.
