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News & Media

Media Release

Date: 12 June 2015

RUH sharing success with other NHS Trusts

More than 60 delegates from 26 NHS Trusts visited the Royal United Hospital on Thursday 11 June to learn all about ESAC – an innovative and nationally pioneering service that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) praised during its most recent inspection of the Trust.

ESAC (Emergency Surgical Ambulatory Care) offers patients with emergency clinical problems a streamlined, one-stop package of care – taking them right through from an initial consultation, to diagnostics, and surgery all in one day. The majority of operations performed are keyhole procedures such as gall-bladder removal and appendectomies, as well as surgery for hernia.

Patients come to the service via their GP or the Emergency Department, or may be referred by the hospital's surgical team if they feel treatment in ESAC would be appropriate and beneficial for the patient.

Miss Sarah Richards, Consultant Surgeon and Clinical Lead for Emergency Surgical Ambulatory Care explains: "When the CQC identified ESAC as an area of good practice in our most recent report, we received a large number of enquiries from other Trusts who were keen to find out more about the service. As the demand for information was so high, we decided to host an event where we could invite other NHS Trusts to come and learn about how ESAC works. We were hoping for 30 or so visitors, but we were overwhelmed by the response: 65 delegates, from NHS Trusts from all across the country, attended the event.

"The aim of the event was to share our experience of how the initiative has worked for us – from how we went about setting it up, to the positive impact it has had on patient experience. We are delighted to share our learning and successes with our colleagues from across the National Health Service."

One of the delegates who attended the event said: "It was a really useful showcase presentation. We travelled a long way but the whole event was extremely useful and helpful".

Since its inception in May 2013, more than 3000 patients have been treated by the ESAC team.

ENDS

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