Sutton emergency care unit goes 24/7 in bid to ease pressure on King’s Mill Hospital

Sherwood Forest Hospital NHS Trust’s purpose-built, same-day emergency care unit, at Sutton’s King’s Mill Hospital, is typically open from 7am-midnight each day.

However, the “admissions-busting” unit, which offers ‘same day’ treatments to avoid patients having to stay in hospital overnight, has stepped up its operating hours as a temporary measure, with staff been working around-the-clock to manage NHS pressures.

The move came as NHS Nottinghamshire declared a county-wide “critical incident” due to the extraordinary pressures seen in emergency departments and the high numbers of patients waiting to be supported to leave hospital.

SDEC is designed to carry out observations, diagnostic tests, blood tests, X-rays, injections, wound care, ultrasound scans, consultations and other tests on patients on the same day that they arrive in hospital.

By treating more patients on the same day, without the need for an overnight stay, it is thought the unit the unit has helped to avoid thousands of overnight stays in hospital since it first opened in June 2021.

Dan Exell, SDEC lead nurse, said: “Every little really does help when it comes to reducing the pressures we are seeing in our hospitals right now and our hardworking NHS staff are going to extraordinary lengths to be there for patients when they need them most.

“We really are doing all we can to make every bed count and doing all we can to avoid patients having to stay in hospital overnight is one crucial part of that work.

“No-one wants to be in hospital longer than they need to and avoiding patients having to stay in hospital overnight is already proving better for patients, better for their loved ones and better for the whole of our NHS.”

Since becoming a 24-hour operation, the unit has treated dozens of patients who come into hospital overnight and are either awaiting test results, or waiting to be seen by a clinician at the start of each day.

It is also helping to move patients from the trust’s busy emergency department overnight to allow staff there to focus on treating patients who need care most.