A NEW 23-bed acute medical unit due to open today at Cork University Hospital (CUH) will help free up spaces in the hospital emergency department and reduce waiting times there, a senior medic has predicted.
Consultant physician Dr Jennifer Carroll said patients attending the new €1.4 million acute medical unit at CUH, located over the hospital’s emergency department, will be seen by a consultant within one hour of arrival. Patients with acute medical problems such as chest infections, pneumonia, clots, chest pain, stroke and heart failure will all be treated at the new unit which will both benefit the patient and alleviate pressure on the emergency department.
Dr Carroll said: “The opening of the acute medicine unit has multiple benefits for patients. Fast-tracking assessment of patients with acute medical problems will facilitate early diagnosis and initiation of appropriate treatment.
“The acute medical unit allows patients to be discharged earlier, reduces the volume of medical admissions and shortens the length of time patients spend in hospital. “The knock-on effect to the ED (emergency department), is that it decreases attendances and consequently the waiting times,” she added.