A NEW system to evaluate patients admitted to Bournemouth’s emergency department has been trialled in a bid to reduce waiting times.

Demand for the service rocketed over the New Year period following outbreaks of norovirus and flu, which resulted in Royal Bournemouth Hospital, along with most other hospitals in the country, miss targets to see 95 per cent of patients within four hours.

In the wake of those statistics the trust has trialled a treatment service – Bournemouth Rapid Evaluation Assessment Treatment Hub (BREATH) – which sees patients arriving by ambulance transferred straight into a hub where a dedicated senior doctor directs a team of nurses.

Heart monitoring, blood samples or X-rays are then taken as necessary and the hospital says this allows staff to design a plan of action for a patient’s urgent care within 20 minutes of their arrival.

Patients who require resuscitation are still seen immediately by the emergency resuscitation team.

After visiting the BREATH hub, patients are referred to the service deemed most appropriate for them.

Alex Lister, directorate manager for medicine and the emergency department, said the BREATH pilot has been successful in helping the hospital manage the recent increase in demand for services – and has now been extended for further testing and refinement.

“Our teams have been working incredibly hard to provide high quality patient care despite the national increased demand for emergency services,” he added.

“It is thanks to their flexibility and determination the BREATH hub has worked well for our patients.

“We are very pleased the scheme is proving successful.”