Plan unveiled to transform and improve emergency care at Countess of Chester Hospital

A new £7.5 million plan to bring down waiting times and improve patient experiences of emergency care at the Countess of Chester Hospital has been revealed today.

The plan will provide patients with more direct access to the full range of emergency care available at the local hospital, which could significantly cut waiting times and improve patient safety and experiences.

Under these ambitious new plans, patients will be triaged on arrival and directed to the relevant department, significantly cutting waiting times and ensuring patients get the right care for their needs.

To bring these plans to life, a new initial assessment hub is being built at the front of the Trust’s Emergency Department (A&E) and the Same Day Emergency Care Centre (SDEC) to better connect these clinical services. It will give patients a seamless experience of emergency care by making sure they’re seen in the right clinical area by the right clinical staff as quickly as possible based on their specific needs.

The new assessment hub will enable more patients to be seen in the Urgent Treatment Centre, freeing up the Emergency Department (A&E) for those who are most unwell.  

In addition to the hub at the front door, a new three-bed area is also being developed to support patients who attend the Emergency Department with complex health needs. The area will have three clinical rooms, an assessment room and a shower room, all designed and equipped to keep patients safe. This will be complemented by a new outdoor area to provide a relaxing and safe space away from the hustle and bustle of the Emergency Department. These improved facilities are a key part of the Trust’s approach to improving care, safety and patient experience and future-proofs the A&E space to better support patients who are the most unwell.

Patient safety will be further improved with an upgrade to the current resuscitation area with an additional adult resuscitation bay and a new paediatric resuscitation area in the children’s section of the department, which will ensure family members are accommodated appropriately whilst accompanying critically unwell children.

In a further effort to reduce waiting times for a hospital bed and improve the experiences of patients who are ready to go home, a refurbished and extended Discharge Lounge opened in early February. Once a patient is ready to go home, they will move to the Discharge Lounge where a dedicated pharmacy will prepare their prescriptions and from where they can be easily transported home.

New bed bays, an improved environment and the new satellite pharmacy will make the room more comfortable and also speed up prescription processing times to help patients get back to their home comforts.

Cathy Chadwick, Chief Operating Officer at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“We are determined to ensure patients get the right care in the right place and that we are offering a positive experience, with safe and comfortable environments in our emergency care departments.

“These exciting and ambitious new plans will create facilities that better suit the needs of our patients and are set to transform the way we provide urgent and emergency care. We want to reduce waiting times, and these improvements will set us up for the future to ensure we can achieve long term change for our patients.”

The new and improved Discharge Lounge opened in early February, with building works starting on the improvements to the emergency care entrances and within A&E in the next few weeks.

It is hoped that the whole project will be completed by summer.

Pictured - New atrium for emergency care arrivals.