New Frailty SDEC Unit opens in Tremenel Unit (RCH)

A new Frailty SDEC (Same Day Emergency Care) Unit has opened in the new Tremenel Unit (by Tower Block) at the Royal Cornwall Hospital to help alleviate operational pressures on the Emergency Department (ED) as well as reduce the length of stay and improve patient safety and experience. Frail and/or elderly patients will be assessed and treated in the dedicated facility, before being discharged back home or into the community without having to be admitted into the hospital.

The model to treat this patient population is used widely and successfully in other Trusts. As elderly and frail patients arrive by ambulance into ED, they are assessed immediately. If the situation is assessed as non-critical or non-life threatening, they are transferred to SDEC where they are looked after by a dedicated team including a Consultant Geriatrician, nursing staff and therapists. The aim is to ensure that these patients are not left waiting in ambulances for long periods of time. Instead, the service enables the vast majority of patients to be treated and discharged on the same day. The ward also caters for up to 18 short-stay inpatients.

“This is a tried and tested model of care used in other Trusts across the country,” says Laura Wesson, Clinical Director Frailty Lead. “We will test the model here at the Trust throughout the winter as the pressures mount, and measure the success of the trial at the end of March, with a view to extending the service long term.”

The Frailty SDEC (Same Day Emergency Care) Unit is located on the upper floor of the Tremenel Unit (in the old Wheal Vor Ward template) and is accessed via the Tower Block, Eye Unit entrance.