North Devon hospital unit part of plan to cut 12-hour emergency waits by up to half
The new Same Day Emergency Care unit at North Devon District Hospital is expected to reduce emergency waits by up to half when it opens in January, funded by a £6.7 million investment from NHS England.
A larger same day emergency care unit, due to open at North Devon District Hospital in early January, is part of a programme expected to cut 12-hour waits in the emergency department by up to 50 per cent.
Construction is under way on the expanded Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) facility, which will be on Level One of the hospital in Barnstaple and funded by NHS England. It will bring a range of same-day services together in one place.
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said the wider programme of improvements was expected to help around 2,800 people each year avoid being admitted to hospital.
SDEC allows patients to be assessed, diagnosed and treated on the same day, so that more of them can go home without an overnight stay. The trust said the model was already used across the NHS, including at the Royal Devon, and was helping patients receive faster treatment and spend less time in hospital.
The new unit is part of a £6.7 million investment over two years in same-day urgent care facilities at the trust’s two acute hospitals. To create the extra space, the trust is reconfiguring existing areas of the North Devon site.
Chris Tidman, deputy chief executive at the Royal Devon, said last winter had brought sustained pressure on services, with long waits, high demand and pressure on beds affecting patients and staff. He said that while demand continued to grow, there was “a real opportunity to do things differently”.
He said the aim was to reduce avoidable admissions and make better use of inpatient beds for those who needed them most. “This is about providing the right care, in the right place, at the right time,” he said. Reducing reliance on beds where a stay was not clinically necessary would also improve patient flow, cut delays and leave the hospital better prepared for future winters and periods of exceptional demand, he said.
The new unit is one of several changes planned for urgent and emergency care across North Devon. The trust is expanding its Hospital at Home service, which treats and monitors patients in their own homes, and developing its Hospital Outreach Team, which provides medical support to people at home. It is also introducing a Single Point of Access to help healthcare professionals reach specialist advice quickly.
The programme is also expected to give patients faster access to assessment, diagnosis and treatment, and to allow more people to be cared for at home or on the same day.
Mr Tidman acknowledged that change could be difficult. “We recognise that change is always challenging, but that the end result will be a safer and more efficient urgent care pathway for patients,” he said. He also thanked staff involved in the work, describing it as “an amazing team effort”.