Ambitious plans for a new Aberdeen health facility which aims to ensure 90% of patients don’t have to come to hospital until the day of their surgery have been revealed.
The move, which will be facilitated with the creation of a new Day of Surgery Admissions (DoSA) unit at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI), marks a shift from patients coming in the day before their planned procedure.
Due to open next year, the new unit will free up more surgical beds and reduce their length of stay in hospital.
NHS Grampian Chief Executive Malcolm Wright said: “Clearly no one wants to be in hospital any longer than they really need to be so it’s good news that, longer term, we will be able to cut out the need for unnecessary stays the night before surgery.
“The DoSA unit will also help reduce the current delays associated with preparing and transporting patients scheduled for surgery, as it will be located right in the heart of ARI, adjacent to theatre. That will also free up staff time and allow them to focus where they are needed most.
“This is an ambitious change but it is the right thing to do. It should bring numerous benefits for patients and staff as well as help ensure we are able to use our theatres as efficiently as possible.”
“One thing we should be absolutely clear about is that we will never compromise on the first class standard of care we offer here in the north east.
“This project is about looking at some of the systems, processes and logistics surrounding how things are done and identifying where we can do things more efficiently.”
A clinical team will be on hand in the new unit to provide speciality pre-surgery care, and will work in partnership with surgical and recovery teams to ensure all aspects of care are patient-centred.
NHS Grampian acute improvement project manager, Gillian Poskitt, is the DoSA project lead.
She said: “In order to provide a healthcare service which meets the needs of our community we need to continuously evolve and work in new ways. The development of a Day of Surgery Admission Unit within NHS Grampian is one of the ways we can better serve patients in the north-east of Scotland coming for elective surgery.”
