SAME day emergency care services are enabling more people in Warrington and across the North West to get the rapid tests and treatment they need to avoid an overnight stay in hospital and helping to manage pressures on NHS services.
The numbers of people being treated and discharged in Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) units in the region steadily increased last year, with more than 180,000 patients benefitting from this care during the 12-month period.
In SDEC units, specialists can assess, diagnose and treat patients on the same day of arrival who would otherwise have been admitted to hospital.
Every hospital trust in the North West now has an SDEC, typically co-located with the emergency department or acute medical unit, to assess and treat patients across a range of specialties, including medical, surgical, acute frailty, paediatrics and gynaecology, who need observation, diagnostics and care.
Dr Michael Gregory, regional medical director for NHS England – North West, said: “Same day emergency care services are ensuring patients with a range of conditions can access timely diagnosis, care and treatment, without admitting them to an inpatient bed.
“This not only supports better outcomes and a better patient experience, but as we continue to experience seasonal pressures, will help to keep beds available for those who need them most.”
Patients can be referred or booked in to SDEC treatment through different routes, including GP or community teams such are urgent community response (UCR), NHS 111, direct transfers from ambulance services, or via emergency departments (EDs).
In Cheshire and Merseyside, GPs can assess and refer patients directly into the 24/7 medical and surgical SDEC that is co-located with the emergency department at Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Staff from ear, nose and throat, urology and the medical team work together in the unit, which also takes referrals from triage nurses in the emergency department. Patients are assessed and treated same day, with options to return for further tests, such as blood tests, later. During 2024, the service saw more than 21,000 patients.
