SOUTHEND Hospital is the first hospital across mid and south Essex to introduce a new system to give live information on the availability of beds.
Called TeleTracking, it gives centralised, real-time bed status information to doctors and nurses.
The hospital’s managing director, Yvonne Blücher, said a live update on demand for beds will help staff ensure patients are admitted to the right ward.
She said: “TeleTracking will also help us get beds ready for the next patient more quickly, reducing the amount of time patients wait to be admitted onto the ward.
“Knowing which beds are free will improve emergency care, and help us run planned admissions more effectively.”
At Basildon Hospital 12,412 patients were seen within the target in December, with the figure rising to 12,819 last month.
Caroline Howard, clinical director emergency department at Southend Hospital, said: “Performance against the four-hour target has improved despite there being higher attendances to the department.
“For January 2019 compared to January 2018 there has been a seven per cent rise in the number of patients attending our emergency department which is a very concerning and a substantial increase in just a year.
“The improved four-hour target figure reflects recent changes in the emergency department including evidence of the new rapid assessment and treatment area being effective. This dedicated, purpose-built area means as patients come off the ambulance they are seen by a senior decision maker sooner.
“This results in a more efficient area and, as patients for admission are identified earlier, they are able to leave the department much sooner.”
The problems with so-called bed-blocking is also been addressed with more streamlined discharges and the use of modern technology to pinpoint available beds in real time.
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