We are constantly striving to improve the care we give to all our patients while making our hospitals better places to work for our staff.

We know our performance against the four-hour emergency access standard is not where we would like it to be – this means patients are spending longer in our Emergency Departments (ED) than they should. We are continuously seeking new ways to improve this, from the ‘front door’ of ED through to the ‘back door’ when patents who needed admitting are discharged home or into the community.  

We have set up numerous initiatives to help us see patients sooner and get them the right treatment by the right specialty as early as possible, and in particular trying to ensure only those patients who need a hospital bed are admitted.

These initiatives include: our Frailty Units at both King George and Queen’s hospitals, which specifically aim to care for our frail and elderly patients and get them home on the same day wherever possible; our Children and Young People’s Assessment Unit (CYPAU); and improvements to our Rapid Assessment and First Treatment (RAFTting) areas.

The latest scheme we have implemented is Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC). SDEC aims to treat more complex patients on the same day, reducing the need for them to be admitted to hospital, ensuring beds are available for patients who really need them, which ultimately improves overall flow throughout the hospital.

Find out more about SDEC in this video starring Consultants Suhier Elshowaya and Hassan Rehmani, and Matron Helen Chikamata.

Initiatives like SDEC are helping us improve the flow of patients through our hospitals, meaning better care and shorter stays. This in turn means shorter waits for other patients who need to be admitted down the line.

We are grateful to our system partners who work with us to ensure we are doing everything we can to support our patients.