The Ambulatory Assessment & Treatment Unit (AATU) has been officially opened at Nobles Hospital.
AATU will enable patients to remain independent where hospital admission is not required, by supporting same day or next day care delivery. It will also provide support for the earlier discharge of suitable inpatients who could be discharged home sooner, returning for follow-up care within AATU as needed.
Referrals can be made by GPs or the Manx Emergency Doctors Service (MEDS), the Emergency Department, the Ambulance Service and colleagues across inpatient wards or outpatient clinics.
Once a referral has been made, the AATU team will contact the patient to provide them with an appointment, allocated based on the patient’s clinical need. Once seen and assessed in AATU, the patient will then be sent home with an appropriate treatment plan and any follow-up if required.
After discharge, the AATU team may ask individuals to return another day for continued treatment or review. If further outpatient tests are requested, the team may telephone or write to patients with the results, so are asking those who use the service to make sure they update their telephone number, address or GP if any of these change.
For “Phase 1”, AATU will be temporarily located within Ward 19 in the West Wing, Ground Floor, Noble’s Hospital, until a suitable permanent location is identified. There will be signage directing patients to AATU within the hospital.
The Unit’s initial opening hours will be Monday to Friday 09:00 – 17:00 and Saturday to Sunday 10:00 – 14:00.
Gavin Turnbull, Clinical Practitioner and Service Lead, said: “We’re pleased to be moving forward in this initiative to reduce unnecessary admissions and ensure that patients are treated in the right place at the right time, making sure an appropriate service is available for their clinical need.”
Jo Standish, Associate Director of Nursing for Medicine, Urgent & Emergency Care and Ambulance Service, said: “It was fantastic to mark the occasion with an official opening by Teresa Cope (CEO). This is an exciting development and patients should start to see the benefits straight away.”
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