New Emergency Assessment Unit Opens Its Doors
Staff at Addenbrooke's Hospital have been putting the finishing touches to the new Emergency Assessment Unit (EAU), and from this week are welcoming the first patients to the new facilities.
Gloucestershire, England (PRWEB) June 24, 2006
The EAU has come a long way since September last year when the 68 modular units or 'building blocks' provided by PKL Heathcare that made up the unit were dropped into place. Over the last six months PKL Healthcare's building work has continued inside the unit to make it ready to open its doors to its first patients.
The unit will change the way emergency care is organised in the hospital. It will provide one 'front door' for emergencies instead of the current two - the Accident and Emergency department and the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU), which are situated at opposite ends of the hospital.
Patients will be assessed on arrival in the Emergency Department (ED) adjacent to the EAU by an integrated multi-professional team including doctors, nurses and other staff who will make early decisions about treatment and care. This will enable the team to decide whether patients can be discharged, managed within the EAU or need a specialist opinion or possible admission to the main hospital.
The unit will feature medical and surgical short-stay wards and an adult Clinical Decision Unit and a Children's Observation Unit, improved access to radiology facilities and rapid pathology testing, plus rapid access clinic facilities for emergency patients.
The Clinical Decision Unit, an area for observation or treatment and further clinical decision-making, is already open to patients. Over the next few weeks the other areas of the EAU will become occupied and will be up and running. The official opening will take place in June.
Please visit http://www. pklhealthcare. co. uk (http://www. pklhealthcare. co. uk)
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