NHS England has issued new guidance for Trusts for patients requiring an extended stay in the Emergency Department (ED). ‘The Model Emergency Department: high performing urgent and emergency care pathways’ aims to focus on elements that are within the ED’s control and set out opportunities for good practice in internal ED pathways.
Emergency Departments are stressful areas, and patient feedback has revealed a preference to receive extended treatment away from these areas. For this reason, NHSE says it has learnt that the use of Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) and Extended Emergency Medicine Ambulatory Care Areas (EEMAC) should be maximised by Trusts.
EEMACs for adults, and an equivalent for children and young people, should be reserved for patients who need care, investigation or treatment that will keep them in the ED for longer than four hours, but who do not need to be admitted to inpatient care.
The guidance states: “The EEMAC should have appropriate skill mix, space and facilities to continue this care and operate on the expectation that patients transferred to this area are expected to conclude their clinical care within eight hours (following a maximum period of four hours within ED).”
The EEMAC should be a separate area but ideally co-located with the ED, configured for patients who are likely to go home, and not expected to be a bedded area. Operating hours should match those of the ED, and align with those of other services.
