Q What is the aim of the Surgical Assessment Unit (SAU)?
A. Our aim is to support you the patient once you have been referred by your GP or from our Emergency Department (ED) and following triage for transfer to the SAU.
You will be assessed against a set criteria to see if the SAU is the right place for your care. Each decision is made depending upon each individuals specific requirements.
Q. How as a patient will I benefit from this new service?
A. We will arrange for you to be thoroughly assessed by a nurse and doctor and if needed, by our on-call surgical team. This is led by a designated on-call surgical consultant.
Q. What will happen to me if I need treatment?
A. We aim to discharge you back to the care of your GP wherever possible within one day or if you need surgery, we will admit you to a hospital bed.
Q. How will I be treated?
A. Your safety is paramount whilst you are with us and we aim to ensure that you are seen on time by one of our doctors or by a relevant healthcare personnel.
We use a mixture of trolleys and chairs in the unit to deliver acute surgical assessment care. You may be moved between these as required for your comfort and based upon you clinical need at the time.
Q. If I require further treatment and do not need to stay in hospital, what will happen?
A. We run an ambulatory emergency surgery clinic Monday to Friday for patients who are able to walk-in. This service is for patients that need to be seen by the emergency general surgery team and are well enough to be seen in a clinic setting.
In addition, we also have a nurse led clinic service sat/sun AM.
“This work is extremely important for your health and wellbeing of, and use to ensure that as many patients as possible can benefit from a faster and more efficient service through the hospital” .
