Opening of the SDEC Unit at QEH
We are thrilled to announce that the Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) Unit at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) was officially opened today (Wednesday 7 February). Louise Crosby, Chief Nurse cut the ribbon to celebrate the special occasion.
The SDEC Unit is one of the many ways LGT is working to ensure that our patients receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.
SDEC allows us to assess, diagnose, treat and safely discharge applicable patients the very same day they engage with our services. This pathway can be used to treat a wide range of conditions, from deep vein thrombosis to pneumonia.
The service will provide our patients with access to specialist care and faster diagnostic tests in an appropriate setting and help get our patients home and avoid an admission.
Patients can be referred to SDEC treatment through a number of different ways, including:
- Triage in emergency departments (EDs)
- Internally via switchboard
- The ambulatory care consultant via the consultant connect system for GPs.
We are also working towards taking direct transfers from ambulances and referrals from NHS111.
Vanessa Purday, Chief Medical Officer at LGT, said: “SDEC is the provision of same day emergency care for patients being considered for emergency admission. We want to make sure that no one stays in the hospital overnight if they can safely return home, and so we're delighted to say that SDEC means that emergency patients will be assessed, diagnosed, and treated for their acute illnesses within a single day, significantly reducing their chances of being admitted to a hospital ward. Thank you to everyone who has been involved in this project; it has been a true team effort to open the unit.”
The SDEC Unit at QEH includes the current Ambulatory Care Unit (ACU), Surgical Assessment Unit (SAU) and the Acute Frailty service (AFS).
It is located close to our Emergency Department in the newly refurbished area next to the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC), which was previously used as the physiotherapy gym.
Following the initial launch of SDEC, we will be continuing work to expand our SDEC services – looking at how we can develop our pathways, extend our opening hours, and expand access into these services.
