01246 277 271
The Emergency Management Unit (EMU) provides high quality urgent medical assessment and treatment for adults who have been referred to us by the Emergency Department, their GP or any other service.
EMU comprises a 33-bed assessment unit and a separate 12-bed Short Stay Unit (SSU) for those requiring a slightly longer period of assessment. EMU works in parallel with the Acute Frailty Unit (AFU) which provides similar services for older or more frail adults.
We provide urgent assessment and treatment of medical illnesses which require an initial hospital admission. This is delivered by a broad team of medical, nursing, pharmacy and therapies staff as well as with input from relevant specialists when needed.
EMU does not assess patients whose presenting condition is more appropriate for the surgical, orthopaedic or obstetric & gynaecology teams. Some patients may be admitted directly from the Emergency Department to specialist medical areas such as the Coronary Care Unit, Acute Stroke Unit or Critical Care Unit (HDU or ITU) and not come to EMU.
Patients may be transferred from EMU to an inpatient ward or discharged from EMU directly home or to other appropriate places of care.
All patients will receive a nursing and medical assessment. Depending on individual needs you may also be seen by a pharmacist, physiotherapist, occupational therapist or other allied healthcare professional.
Medical assessments are provided by consultants, junior doctors, physician associates, advanced clinical practitioners and clinical nurse specialists depending on an individual patient’s needs.
EMU also hosts medical and nursing students who may see you and assist in assessment and information gathering as part of their supervised training.
Specialist input from consultants in specialties such as cardiology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, neurology or respiratory medicine may be requested after your initial consultant assessment.
Other teams may become involved depending on your individual needs such as:
- Mental Health Liaison Team (Psychiatry team)
- Drug and Alcohol Liaison Team and Tobacco Cessation Team
- ‘Virtual Ward’ teams (also known as ‘Hospital at Home’)
- Specialist Nursing Teams (such as Diabetes, Respiratory, Cancer and Palliative Care)
- Adult Social Care (Social Services)
We aim for patients to receive an initial nursing assessment and triage within 15 minutes of arrival. We aim to deliver an initial medical assessment for all patients within 4 hours but this will vary dependant on clinical urgency. We aim for a consultant review to be completed within 14 hours of arrival.
This will vary significantly depending on individual circumstances. Some patients will be able to be discharged after initial medical assessment and the usual maximum length of stay on EMU is around 24 hours.
Our dedicated 12-bed Short Stay Unit next door to EMU is designed for patients needing slightly longer for their initial assessment (eg 48-72 hours) but who are felt less likely to need admission to an inpatient ward.
Patients needing a longer period of treatment in hospital will be transferred to an inpatient ward.
As EMU is an emergency assessment unit rather than an inpatient ward, patients may be discharged at any time of the day (including overnight) but this decision will factor in an individual patient’s needs.
The outcome of your assessment on EMU may be:
- Discharge from hospital – back to the care of your GP
- Discharge from hospital – with early follow up in the “Same Day Emergency Care” unit.
- Arrangement of outpatient tests or treatment
- Transfer of care to community teams such as our ‘Virtual Ward’ (Hospital at Home) teams
- Transfer of care to a community hospital or rehabilitation centre
- Admission to an inpatient ward
A friend or family member is welcome to come with you for your initial assessment. This may be to help with communication, passing information or simply for support.
After the initial assessment and depending on the situation, visitors may be asked to leave and return during EMU visiting hours of 2pm to 4pm and 6pm to 8pm to ensure the confidentiality and dignity of other patients receiving care on the unit.
We encourage visitors to attend at other times to assist patients who may be confused or have communication difficulties. For example, to be present for morning ward rounds (approximately 8am to 12pm).
If a visitor feels they need to visit outside usual visiting hours or stay for longer, please discuss this with the named nurse for that patient or call EMU in advance of your visit on 01246 512625.
We know that sometimes people think of questions only after they leave hospital and get back home. For example, you may have a query about your discharge letter or about a new medicine we have started.
For queries such as this please call EMU on 01246 512625 and we will get an appropriate staff member to call you back.
Despite a full medical assessment, we know that things can change after you get home. If you are concerned that you have a new medical problem or that your condition has worsened, DO NOT call EMU for advice or to seek medical help. In this situation, please seek urgent medical help by calling 999, 111 or your local GP practice as appropriate.