New Same-Day Emergency Care Unit opens at QEQM

A new Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) unit has been officially opened at the QEQM Hospital in Margate, which will improve patients’ experience by reducing corridor care and unnecessary admissions.

SDEC units allow acute specialists to assess, diagnose and treat patients on the same day of arrival who would otherwise have been admitted to hospital. Under this care model, patients attending hospital with certain conditions can be rapidly assessed, diagnosed and treated without being admitted to a ward, and if clinically safe to do so, will go home the same day their care is provided.

The new unit – delivered in partnership with 2gether Support Solutions - opens to patients within the next week and is expected to accommodate over 100 people a day, helping to reduce the pressure on the emergency department that normally sees around 350 patients daily.

Jess Evans, interim medical director at QEQM, explained how the SDEC units will work: “Patients can be referred or booked in to SDEC treatment through different routes including from emergency departments, direct referral from GPs, direct transfer from ambulance service or even direct referral from NHS 111.

“The units cover medical and surgical needs, so it should improve patient experience and reduce hospital admissions by avoiding unplanned and longer than necessary stays in the hospital.

“These are different from emergency departments – which handle life-threatening conditions – and urgent treatment centres which offer walk-in care for minor, non-life-threatening injuries and illnesses closer to the community.”

Teams have worked tirelessly over the past 12 months managing the build programme with various service moves in the interim. This has included the therapies team moving to the new outpatient spaces, while the urgent treatment centre is at a new location, and fracture clinic has also relocated.

East Kent Hospital Trust’s acting chief executive, Dr Des Holden said: “The opening of a new SDEC unit is a huge milestone for our Trust because it represents a faster and more convenient alternative for patients to see a team of experts immediately, and receive rapid assessment, diagnosis and treatment - hopefully with the outcome that they will be home again the very same day.

“It plays a major part in our ongoing priority of tackling corridor care, and relieving the pressure on our emergency department, ensuring hospital beds remain available for the most critically ill patients.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank NHS England for its investment in our Trust, and to staff who have worked so hard behind the scenes over the past year to deliver this important project.”

A similar unit at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford is due to also open in the next few weeks. The £28.95m units have been funded by NHS England.

Health Minister Karin Smyth said: “Patients deserve timely care in the right setting, without facing an unnecessary hospital admission.

“This new Same Day Emergency Care unit will help more than 100 patients a day receive faster assessment, diagnosis and treatment, while easing pressures on the emergency department and tackling corridor care, delivering better care for communities across Kent.

“Through our 10 Year Capital Plan, we are continuing to invest in the buildings and facilities the NHS needs to deliver a health service fit for the future.”