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Project: Same Day Emergency Care Unit
Client: Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
Location: Sandwell General Hospital
The challenge
When Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust recognised an urgent need to develop an effective Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) provision to reduce pressure on inpatient beds, it turned to Darwin Group for help.
The need to improve patient care through the development of SDEC was recognised and outlined in the NHS Long Term Plan 2019.
Darwin Group’s solution was a fast-track SDEC facility at Sandwell General Hospital to allows up to 30 people a day to avoid an overnight hospital stay. The unit, with 6 bed bays, triage and treatment rooms and a waiting area, is run by senior doctors and allows patients to be assessed, diagnosed, and start treatment on the same day, reducing pressure on inpatient beds.
Handled from RIBA Stage 1, the project saw Darwin Group construct the SDEC facility in just 72 days. The unit was opened in March 2023.
“[This SDEC] will reduce the pressure on inpatient beds… The hospital already has a SDEC unit but it is tiny. There’s a restricted number of patients we can put through there. This will give us more capacity and allow the patients to have a better experience.”
Richard Beeken
Chief Executive
Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust