A team of exceptional nurses is celebrating a move into a special dedicated unit for patients with minor injuries at Princess Alexandra Hospital, and the great news is: patients are already giving this the thumbs up.

The move to ease pressure on Princess Alexandra Hospital’s busy Emergency Department (ED) means that people with injuries which are not life-threatening will be able to be seen more quickly than before.
Princess Alexandra Hospital has one of the busiest emergency departments in the country, seeing on average 350 patients a day. This means the hospital is attending to some 38,000 more patients a year than it was originally built for. Together with growing demand this has placed pressure on capacity in the hospital.

In an effort to reduce waiting times and improve patient flow, the hospital has created a separate minor injuries unit within the emergency department, so that less severe cases can be dealt with and avoid an unnecessary wait. Patients who arrive at ED with injuries such as cuts, sprains or bites can be immediately streamed to the unit, where a medical team can deal with their injuries. This frees up resources in the main ED area and means these patients are not waiting with more urgent cases.

Within the first days of opening, the unit has generated great feedback, with a 100 per cent positive rate in the NHS Friends and Family test – a survey which asks if patients would recommend the service to friends and family.

The unit, which is located close to both the X-ray and paediatric departments, is staffed by a specialist team of experienced advanced nurse practitioners, who see approximately a third of all attendees at ED in a 24 hour period.

The team have been singled out for praise for the way they have made extra efforts to enhance their skills and knowledge. Inspectors from the regulator CQC said recently: “The advanced nurse practitioner groups within the emergency department were an outstanding team, who worked to develop themselves to improve care for their patients.

June Barnard, Associate Director of Nursing, said: “This means we can give patients all the care and attention they deserve, from a team of nurses with decades of experience and immense knowledge and skills.”

Andy Morris, Chief Medical Officer echoed the praise the team had received from inspectors: “This team are caring, compassionate, committed and responsible. They give 100 per cent every day; on top of this they demonstrate their dedication in the way they are committed to constantly upgrading their skills. They justly deserve the praise they received from the healthcare regulator.”