Fall in patients clogging up Russells Hall Hospital A&E
The number of patients being taken by ambulance to Russells Hall Hospital has been cut under a new scheme, relieving pressure on A&E.
A total of 107,537 people were transferred to hospital during 2018/2019 – 42,694 arriving by ambulance – which led to “considerable pressure” in the Emergency Department.
But plans put in place in March have now seen the average number of patients arriving at the hospital via ambulance fall from an average of 917 per week to 800.
The move has seen ambulances redirected when the hospital is struggling, GP visits staggered to prevent unnecessary calls and others and a focus on prevention with other agencies.
A report to update Dudley Council on the hospital said: “It remains early in the service changes to determine if the changes are sustainable, but the early performance indicators are positive.
“There is both a reduction in conveyances and a reduction in turnaround times for ambulances who do attend the ED.
"The change in the conveyance pattern correlates to the date the service changes were made and the impact is growing as the change embeds
“Reducing the number of conveyances to hospitals is part of a wider strategy to ensure those in need of urgent treatment receive it as quickly as possible, and that once an ambulance has conveyed a patient it can be released back on the road as quickly as possible.”
Paramedics visiting patients across the borough, for non-life threatening calls, now have the option of seeking support from a clinical support team rather than taking them straight to hospital.
