An innovative new approach to providing integrated unscheduled care

QUEEN ALEXANDRA EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT REDEVELOPMENT

RLB has been appointed by Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust to undertake the OBC for their new Emergency Department, owing to increased patient numbers - over 150,000 per annum.

This increase in major and paediatric caseload means the department is frequently over capacity, leading to regular ambulance delays.
The Emergency Department design concept delivers an innovative new approach to providing integrated unscheduled care. The patient centred model has agility and flexibility at its core, creating an environment which responds to the fast pace of change and supports the needs of the clinical team for many years into the future.
The new Emergency Department will achieve a single point of access for unscheduled patients. This will be an integrated, system wide change along the principles of the Canterbury, New Zealand and Northumbria Emergency Care systems. The Emergency Floor will see patients from all types of Emergency and Ambulatory departments, including Paediatrics, Head and Neck, Mental Health and Gynaecology.
The new layout will facilitate early senior assessment, investigation, imaging and final management plans; as well as removing process duplication. Additional benefits include:

• Modelling of 7 different clinical workflows from Surgical, orthopaedic, medical, ambulatory, Paediatric, emergency and urgent care up to 2029.
• A single point of entry that streamlines all ED pathways ensuring efficient operation and better outcomes via the PITSTOP senior doctor assessment.
• Aligns with Portsmouth CCG Urgent Care plans for primary care centres and patient education.
• Reduces ambulance waiting times.
• Flexible accommodation with equal sized glass fronted bays for privacy and dignity, adaptable in the event of major incidents or changing demand.
• Age, gender and speciality type dedicated facilities.
• A two-storey building minimising travel distances and a single 70+ short stay capacity with over 6 speciality groups working alongside.
• Daylight into all bedrooms and clinical rooms.
• Reduce inpatient lengths of stay and unnecessary admissions of elderly care groups through faster diagnostic testing with immediate access to patient data.
• A PICU (Psychiatric ICU) enabling better care for vulnerable people.
• An integrated paediatric facility, with early senior decision making, reduced conversion rate and amalgamation of workforces.