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New unit to help with hospital flow ahead of winter
A brand new unit has opened at the QMC to help improve care for patients whilst they are waiting to be discharged.
The new unit, which opened in September, will provide 24 hour discharge support, seven days a week and will ensure a relaxed and comfortable area for patients to wait to get their medications, transport home or anything they need before they get discharged from hospital, helping to free up beds for patients who need them the most. The funding came from the government for environmental improvements to discharge areas across NHS trusts.
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The unit will provide a friendly environment with access to snacks, hot meals, activities and even food bags for patients to take home. A clothes bank has also been set up at the unit to make sure that patients who need them have appropriate clothes to travel home in.
With 20 beds and 20 chairs across the unit, it is expected that the unit could potentially save around 6 bed spaces per patient, meaning that it will have a significant impact on patient flow throughout the Trust as we enter into winter.
Specialist rooms for end of life care have also been created as part of the new unit, which will ensure privacy for families and patients who are on end of life care or have had a particular traumatic event. These rooms will be able to be used for patients who may have previously had to wait in the emergency department or on wards, allowing for a calmer and more private space for them.
Lisa Wells, Deputy Clinical Lead for Admitted Care at the Trust, said: “The new discharge unit will have a significant impact on patient safety and will help with capacity across the Trust as it will ensure that more beds are freed up for patients who need them the most, ensuring that patients can be handed over to the emergency department quicker and ambulances can get back out on the roads.
“We already have discharge lounges which help with flow throughout the hospital, but the new unit will be able to run 24/7, which we hope will have an even bigger impact, helping to get patients who are ready for home discharged in a comfortable area whatever time of day it is.”
