HEALTH chiefs have announced plans for about 50 new beds in what could be a crucial development at the Royal Blackburn Hospital.

The beds would come with a major expansion of the hospital’s medical assessment unit, which provides an intermediary stage between the emergency department and the inpatient wards.

The shake-up, cited by chief executive Kevin McGee as a top priority when he took up his post last year, would increase the number of beds on the unit from 42 to about 90. It would also be reclassified as an acute medical unit (AMU).

The changes are expected to ease delays in the emergency ward, by enabling staff to admit patients more quickly, as well as avoiding unnecessary admissions to the hospital.

Ian Stanley, acting medical director at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “The big change is that rather than having to transfer all patients to a ward within ten to 14 hours, because of the size of the current unit, many patients will stay on the AMU and receive all of the necessary in-patient care and go home within 72 hours. This will reduce the number of ward moves and improve consistency of care.

“Specialities will in-reach to the unit to give advice or to ‘pull’ the patient to a speciality ward if that will better meet their needs.

“This will include a ‘medicine for older people multidisciplinary team’ assessing frail older people in this area with a view to those who are medically stable rapidly returning home with increased support and community care, or transferring to community beds to complete their assessment and recovery.

“If a patient is identified as needing a specialist ward (gastroenterology, respiratory, cardiology etc) they will be moved there as soon as possible.”

Pneumonia, complications of diabetes complications and infections are among the conditions that will be dealt with on the AMU, which will to be staffed by multi-disciplinary teams including doctors and nurses.

The expansion is likely to be balanced with bed closures in other areas. The trust’s recently published financial plan suggests 125 beds could close over the next five years as more routine care is delivered in people’s homes or in the community.