The unit was officially opened on Thursday by the Western Trust’s Director of Acute Services, Geraldine McKay, and the Chair of the Western Trust Board Dr. Tom Frawley.
It operates on a ‘Phone First’ basis with patients with less serious injuries ringing ahead to be triaged and given an appointment slot, saving long waits in ED.
Colleen Hamilton, Service Manager for Unscheduled Care at Atlnagelvin, told the ‘Journal’ a lot of time and work went into the new initiative but said it is already yielding results.
“It has been about 18 months of putting a plan in place to try and get this up and running and lots of negotiations to try and find the right fit.
“We wanted to be close to ED but tried not to be co-located with ED. We found this worked really well,” she said.
The facility is led by Emergency Nurse Practitioners (EMPs) and other nursing staff, with oversight from clinicians from the main ED, and is operational from 8am to 9pm each day.
Patients suffering from minor injuries experience a much quicker turnaround and more comfortable environment than if they had attended the main ED, the Trust said.
Joanne McFeely, Assistant Radiology Service Manager at Altnagelvin, said the decision to locate new radiography and radiology services in the unit means patients are getting X-rayed much quicker than previously would have been the case.
“It has proved completely successful in that patients will come in, they will Phone First and be triaged by our nurses, and then they will have a very short distance to walk to get their X-ray.
“Then you will have patients, coming in and coming out of the Minor Injuries Unit within half an hour whereas maybe previously they would have had at least a four hour stint in A&E,” she said.
Officially launching the unit Mrs. McKay, said: “The Minor Injuries Unit has quickly established itself as a key service here at the Altnagelvin site, and has helped relieve some of the immense pressure on our ED allowing ED to focus on those with the most life-threatening illnesses and injuries.
"This new Minor Injuries Unit provides timely care in much more suitable surroundings, especially for children and young people including the opening of the new plain film X-ray room.”
Dr. Frawley hailed the nursing staff, clinicians and service staff for making the new facility a reality.
"You are the people who make a difference when there is intense pressure and I’m very conscious of the intense pressure you have been dealing with now for a number of years.
“It is hugely significant, I think, that at last you are getting an environment to work in that is appropriate to both the challenge you face and indeed the skills you have because not having this design up until now will have meant you can't achieve the things that you want to achieve for patients every day and I know from the feedback we get that this particular service is hugely valued. Thank you for everything that you do every day.”
Some of the most common injuries which can be treated in the new Minor Injuries Unit include:
- Minor head injuries.
- Facial injuries including foreign bodies in the eyes or nose.
- Upper and lower limb injuries including fractures, dislocations, bruises and sprains.
- Uncomplicated wounds.
- Bites, burns and scalds.
Ms. Hamilton explained: “The clue is in the name: it is an injury. Burns, sprains, bites, fractures, digit dislocations and things like that. Our team are really experienced and specialised in the care of minor injuries and the treatment and care of those.”
The muted and calming colours of the new suites and the ambient music and visual displays piped through some of them make for a much more pleasant hospital experience, especially for children and young people who may find themselves requiring unscheduled care.
"What we had before was our EMPs working out of one cubicle space so we had two EMPs trying to manage this volume of patients through one space in our old minor injuries area.
"That got so congested because we had so many people waiting for admissions, so many people attending A&E. It just felt appropriate that this space was moved across.
"What we have also found is that this provides a really good training facility for our nurses coming through, creating those ED nurses, especially for the out-of-hours period,” said Ms. Hamilton.
Ms. McFeely concurred: “You look at the surroundings in this Philips X-ray room and we have purchased some ambient experience which is what you see with the lighting and the music.
“For children, maybe autistic children, or anybody with a learning difficulty and some of the elderly, it gives them a very nice experience. It's a nice place to come. It's not threatening. I can't say enough positives. It’s such an excellent facility.”
The Minor Injuries stream is a Phone First led service. The Phone First service is designed for patients, including children, who are considering travelling to an ED or Minor Injury Unit with an injury that requires urgent treatment but is not immediately life threatening.
The ‘Phone First’ number to ring is 0300 020 6000 while the ‘Phone First’ text relay number is 0870 240 5152. Phone First operates from 8.00am to midnight each day, including weekends and public holidays.
The opening of the new unit at Altnagelvin means that there are now separate Minor Injuries streams at all three of the Western Trust’s hospital sites, with Altnagelvin taking its place alongside existing services at South West Acute Hospital and at Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex.
1. Western Trust staff at the launch of the the new Minor Injuries Unit at Altnagelvin Hospital.
Western Trust staff at the launch of the the new Minor Injuries Unit at Altnagelvin Hospital. Photo: WHSCT
2. Western Trust staff at the launch of the the new Minor Injuries Unit at Altnagelvin Hospital.
Western Trust staff at the launch of the the new Minor Injuries Unit at Altnagelvin Hospital. Photo: WHSCT
3. The facility is led by Emergency Nurse Practitioners (EMPs) and other nursing staff, with oversight from clinicians from the main ED, and is operational from 8am to 9pm each day.
The facility is led by Emergency Nurse Practitioners (EMPs) and other nursing staff, with oversight from clinicians from the main ED, and is operational from 8am to 9pm each day. Photo: WHSCT
4. The unit was officially opened on Thursday by the Western Trust’s Director of Acute Services, Geraldine McKay, and the Chair of the Western Trust Board Dr. Tom Frawley.
The unit was officially opened on Thursday by the Western Trust’s Director of Acute Services, Geraldine McKay, and the Chair of the Western Trust Board Dr. Tom Frawley. Photo: WHSCT