Proposal aims to cut waiting times at hospital Emergency Department

A new system is being introduced in Irish hospitals to overhaul how patients attending Emergency Departments are treated.

A new system is being introduced in Irish hospitals to overhaul how patients attending Emergency Departments (EDs) are treated.

The Acute Medicine Programme (AMP) is designed to improve services and to reduce the time spent in ED units by people who do not require admission to hospital.

The Health Service Executive and Department of Health claim that the plan will see up to 1,300 beds and trollies being freed up over the next three years.

The initiative includes a six-hour target within which a patient will be assessed and either admitted or discharged, helping to cut costs.

The measures are being introduced at 18 hospitals this year, with the changes taking effect in the remainder of acute facilities next year.

The AMP has also developed and introduced a National Early Warning Score (NEWS) which will “track and trigger” a medical response to a deterioration in a patient’s clinical state.

This response may include further investigations and treatment and transfer to a more appropriate care setting.