Altnagelvin new Minor Injuries Unit has already seen 2,000 patients and is easing pressure on A&E, staff say at launch

Derry Journal

Transcript

00:00 So it's been about 18 months of a plan in place to try and get this up and running.

00:04 Lots of negotiations to try and find the right fit. So we wanted sort of close to ED but

00:09 trying to not be a co-located ED. However, we found that this area worked really well.

00:15 It has worked really well. We use the phone first service, which is the GP out of Irish number.

00:20 They allow patients in, they book an appointment there at a time they arrive. So

00:23 we don't, what we were afraid of was creating another mini ED within an ED. So we do a time to

00:29 arrive for those patients with a lesser urgent issue than those that have to attend an emergency

00:33 department. Our clinic appointments are usually filled up most days. We have 24 appointments

00:38 and hoping to expand that going into the coming months. It has five clinical spaces and it also

00:43 has a plainful medicine room that we can use. And we are hoping over time that we will be able to

00:47 expand on what we utilize. We've seen about 2000 people so far in the last 10 to 16 weeks that

00:54 we've been open. So it has worked really, really well. My name is Joanna Cleary. I'm the assistant

00:59 radiology service manager based in Notting Hill. Tell me a wee bit about how this new unit works

01:06 and what a difference it's sort of made to radiography and radiology in Notting Hill.

01:10 So whenever I suppose the inception of the minor injuries unit was talked about,

01:14 it wouldn't have been probably half as good if it didn't have an x-ray room or an x-ray facility.

01:19 So at that time we were actually replacing the x-ray room. We kind of decided that it would be

01:23 ideal if we were to place it or position it here. And it has proved completely successful in that

01:30 we, patients will come in, they will phone first, be triaged by our nurses and then they have a very

01:37 short distance to walk to get their x-ray. And you can have patients coming in and coming out of the

01:41 minor injuries unit within half an hour, where maybe previously they would have had at least a

01:46 four hour stint in the A&E. Now remember the old system, I remember spraining and breaking my ankle

01:51 the other time, it wasn't quite as seamless. No, you went and it was very long and it was protracted

01:57 and it was very, very busy. And you could see that whenever you come into the accident and

02:02 emergency department, you know that they were struggling to kind of cope, where at least this,

02:06 you phone in, phone first, you know you've got an appointment, you attend on your appointment time,

02:12 you're seen at that time, you're x-rayed in a timely manner and as I say the turnaround is

02:17 very, very quick. And I suppose testament to it is probably the number of positive feedback comments

02:23 that we've had through Care Opinion, where you kind of are getting from patients how they have

02:28 enjoyed coming here and the facility, it's an excellent facility that's available now for the

02:33 local people. For workflow, work practice, for the staff themselves? Even today whenever we were

02:38 standing in here, we've seen a patient coming in, like a young girl who was slumping in,

02:42 and like within two minutes she'd been triaged and we could see her walking down to x-ray,

02:46 she's probably now getting her cast on, that wouldn't have happened. And it's a far, far more

02:51 welcoming environment. And then you look at the surroundings that you're on here today,

02:55 we have Mrs. Phillips x-ray room and we, along with the purchase of ambient experience, which

03:01 is what you see, the lighting and the music, so again it gives like a, I suppose for children

03:06 maybe autistic children or anybody with a learning difficulty, even some of the elderly,

03:10 it kind of gives them a very nice experience, it's a nice place to come, it's not threatening,

03:16 and as I said, just such, I can't say enough positives about it, you know, it's such an

03:22 excellent facility. I would never come on here for a break myself. No, that's to say it is, it's a,

03:27 oh it is, the whole setting is just, and even for radiographers, it is, you know, I can't say

03:34 enough good about it, you know, there's no radiographer that wouldn't be happy to come

03:38 over here and work in such a nice environment. It's a steady pace, patients get a quick throughput,

03:44 staff are happy, so it's like a win-win for everybody. The unit provides timely care and

03:49 much more suitable surroundings as you will see today, especially for children and young people

03:54 that are playing the opening number, who you play in full on x-ray room. And I have to ask you all

04:00 to please go and see that before you leave here because it's absolutely brilliant. Today's

04:05 official opening marks the conclusion of many months of hard work and significant investment

04:11 to bring this project to fruition. Could you tell me what sort of people are examined,

04:17 this is kind of like sprains, minor cuts, are they all burned? Absolutely, so the clue is in the name,

04:23 it's an injury, so burns, sprains, spites, we also do, so we see fractures, some limb

04:31 digit dislocations, things like that, so our team are really experienced, they're specialists in the

04:37 role of minor injuries and the treatment and the care of those and then we manage them,

04:42 review if they need it. I noticed the children's ward in there, it's far more welcome environment.

04:50 Absolutely. You know what A&E can be like? It seems like, well what we had before was our EMPs

04:57 working out of one cubicle space, so we had two EMPs trying to manage this volume of patients

05:02 through one space in our old minor injury area and that got so congested because we have so many

05:08 people waiting for admissions, so many people attend E&E, it just felt appropriate that this

05:13 space needed to be moved across. What we've also found is it actually provides a really good

05:17 training facility for our nurses coming through, creating those ED nurses, especially for those

05:21 out of Irish period, so patient nurses who weren't exposed to those minor injuries in the main area

05:27 are now exposed to them, able to get trained up and work and use that and be able to take that

05:32 skeleton experience back to the ED for the out of Irish period. The unit has successfully seen,

05:37 treated and discharged over 2,000 patients at this stage now, since it came into service two

05:43 months ago, with patients suffering from minor injuries experiencing a much quicker turnaround

05:49 and more comfortable environment than if they had attended the main ED department. To date,

05:55 all our minor injury patients have been triaged, assessed, treated and discharged within the

06:01 regional agreed standard, so I want to wish you and your patients every success in your new journey.

06:08 [Background conversation]

06:26 Can I just say a couple of words? I'm very conscious that this sort of person only appears

06:33 at big occasions, openings, and you're the people who do the work every day. You're the people who

06:38 make a difference when there is intense pressure and I'm very conscious of the intense pressure

06:45 that we've been dealing with now for a number of years and it's hugely significant I think

06:51 that at last you're getting an environment to work in that's appropriate to both the challenge

06:56 you face and indeed the skills you have because not having this design up to now will have meant

07:04 you can't achieve the things that you want to achieve for patients every day and I know from

07:10 the feedback we get that this particular service is hugely valued, so thank you for everything you

07:16 do every day and you know hopefully now we will see the real impact of this wonderful facility

07:25 as you bring it to life every day because without you it's just a building, it doesn't do anything.

07:30 You make it relevant, you make it effective, you make a difference, so thank you so much

07:36 and I wish you well. I wish I had a bottle of champagne which I could

07:41 crash against the wall and just God bless you and everyone that sails in it. Thank you so much.

07:47 [Applause]

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