NEW AMBULANCE HANDOVER UNIT TO IMPROVE PATIENT EXPERIENCE

A new ‘ambulance handover unit’ has been set up at Peterborough City Hospital in a bid to help combat longer ambulance handover delays and improve patient experience. The new modular unit was installed by Vanguard Healthcare Solutions and is located at the back of the hospital directly in the ambulance drop off point. The building took a month to install and commission and accommodates eight trolley spaces which will act as a rapid triage assessment area. The new provision offers a ‘ready to use’ facility with clean and dirty utility, changing room, toilet, staff area and piped medical gases.

“The Ambulance Handover Unit is a real positive step in helping us reduce handover times and ensure a much-improved, safer experience for our patients,” says Caroline Walker, Chief Executive. “This project is just one of a series of changes and new initiatives introduced to further improve the care our patients receive on admission to and discharge from our hospitals. This includes working with Ashlynn Grange care home adjacent to Peterborough City Hospital, to provide additional bed capacity for patients no longer requiring acute medical care but are on a reablement pathway.”

It is hoped that the new unit will help to expedite ambulance handover times, using the new receiving area to safely move patients and avoid holding ambulances at the hospital for longer than necessary. The additional capacity and trolley space should also reduce the need for corridor care in the Emergency Department.