Division of acute medicine
Find out more about this service at South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust
Acute admissions unit
The acute admissions unit comprises of the following services:
- Acute assessment unit (AAU)
- Short stay unit (SSU)
- Rapid access clinic (RAC)
- Fast access to services team (FAST)
- Discharge team
All services are based at The James Cook University Hospital
Acute assessment unit
- The acute assessment unit provides emergency assessment, investigation and treatment to patients requiring emergency medical or surgical care.
- With the emphasis on the prompt assessment of patients to assess the need for inpatient care, any necessary treatment and/or subsequent discharge or transfer. Consultant ward rounds twice daily.
- Patients may be treated as inpatients or outpatients.
- The unit has an experienced team of nurse practitioners, staff nurses and advanced health care assistants who have extended their scope of practice to meet the patients’ needs.
- The AAU has 24 beds, which consist of three single rooms and five, four-bedded bays. It also has a room used in emergency situations such as resuscitation.
Rapid access clinic
- Providing an ambulatory emergency clinic for patients requiring emergency assessment and treatment.
- The clinic area of the unit holds a four-bedded trolley bay and four consultation rooms.
Short stay unit
- This is a 26-bedded ward for medical / surgical patients with an anticipated length of stay less than 48 hours.
Fast access to services team
- A team consisting of senior nurses, social workers, physio and occupational therapists that are part of the AAU
- They specialise in the rapid assessment of patients, especially the elderly, with a view for early discharge. Support the assessment of needs for patients requiring a supported discharge from the AAU.
- Each team member has been trained to do a full assessment of the patients needs prior to discharge.
- The team can provide essential equipment or pass on the patient’s case to community colleagues.
Discharge team
- The team assists colleagues within multi-disciplinary teams with support and advice around patients who are identified as having complex needs on discharge in order to ensure safe, effective and timely transfer, as well as influencing best use of resources.
The team
Click here to view the acute admissions team.
The unit's emphasis is on team work. In 2005 the AAU was awarded the Acute Medicine Team of the Year in association with the Royal College of Physicians.
Both the AAU and SSU have an experienced team of nurse practitioners, staff nurses and advanced health care assistants who have extended their scope of practice to meet the patients’ needs.
Clinics
The rapid access clinic has a nurse-led deep vein thrombosis (DVT) service and has ambulatory care facilities. The clinic offers flexible appointments within the directorate for general medical review as well as providing an ambulatory emergency service for patients requiring emergency assessment and treatment. The clinic has a rapid turn around of patients.
The clinic uses leading evidence based practice for the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) and offers patient treatment for these conditions using an outpatient pathway and in collaboration with the patients’ GP.
Speciality clinics held in rapid access clinic (RAC):
- Respiratory
- Gastroenterology
- TIA/stroke
- Heart failure
- General medical – rapid access review