A NEW facility has been put in exterior the Royal Gwent Hospital’s Emergency Division to hurry up the care of sufferers who arrive by ambulance.
Aneurin Bevan College Well being Board has labored with the Welsh Ambulance Service Belief to introduce the brand new ambulance switch facility – named the POD (Affected person Offload Division).
The POD incorporates six hospital beds to accommodate ambulance sufferers at occasions when the Emergency Division is full.
The brand new facility will assist ambulance sufferers to be transferred safely on the hospital, enabling ambulance crews to be launched extra shortly to reply 999 calls from throughout Gwent.
The Well being Board has already cared for an unprecedented quantity of sufferers in its Emergency Departments this winter and infrequently ambulance crews have needed to wait exterior the hospital with sufferers till house has change into out there within the hospital.
In December, the Well being Board’s Emergency Departments skilled their busiest ever month on report – the variety of sufferers seen (14,533) being 8% increased than within the earlier busiest month on report (December 2018).
Claire Birchall, Director of Operations at Aneurin Bevan College Well being Board, mentioned: “We’ve labored with the Welsh Ambulance Service Belief to introduce this new ‘Affected person Offload Division’ to facilitate the swift switch of ambulance sufferers into our Emergency Division on the Royal Gwent.
“This new facility will allow paramedics to dump their sufferers extra shortly and get again out to answering 999 calls locally.
“The POD offers six beds in a protected and cozy atmosphere, which is able to enhance the care we’re in a position to give sufferers who might have in any other case be cared for at the back of an ambulance at occasions when the Emergency Division is full.”
Darren Panniers, Space Operations Supervisor for the Welsh Ambulance Service, mentioned: “The Affected person Offload Division on the Royal Gwent Hospital will present a protected, dignified ‘offload’ space for as much as six sufferers dropped at hospital by ambulance if the Emergency Division is full, in addition to disabled rest room amenities, hospital trolleys, medical gases and monitoring.
“We recognise that, in isolation, this is not going to resolve the issue of handover delays, however it’s a sensible step within the circumstances to make sure ambulances could be launched sooner, particularly in the course of the busy winter interval.”
Notes to editors
A YouTube video could be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7pa3mf9968
For additional data contact: ABUHB Communications Workforce (James Hodgson or Olivia Chambers) Tel: 01633 435944; pressenquiries.ABB@wales.nhs.uk
