Our Services A - Z - Acute Medical Unit

The Acute Medical Unit (AMU) is a 52 bedded unit where patients are referred to either by the Emergency Department or the patient's General Practitioner. All patients receive a timely senior medical review and appropriate treatment. Patients on AMU are reviewed by a consultant on daily basis to provide the highest quality of care.

Apart from acute medicine trained consultants, AMU has consultants from other backgrounds including from diabetes, rheumatology, respiratory medicine and intensive care. We also have a GP who specialises in acute care.

The unit has 6 single sex accommodation bays. Half of our beds are in the form of side rooms which are used to care for patients who have infectious conditions e.g. diarrhoea and vomiting.  

We aim to provide the highest quality of care. We strive to provide an environment where patients feel they are cared for, are listened to and their needs fulfilled.

As most patients who are admitted to hospital either prefer treatment at home or want to be discharged at the earliest opportunity, we have developed alternative methods of treatment to either avoid an admission (Same Day Emergency Care) or reduce the length of stay in the hospital (Acute Medical Unit – clinics). The Acute Medical Unit (AMU) provides a wide range of services including input from pharmacist, physiotherapist, occupational therapist and social workers. Cardiology and Gastroenterology provide in-reach specialty support to AMU.

Various specialist nurses visit the unit regularly covering areas such as chest pain, heart failure, COPD, diabetes, acute oncology and palliative care. AMU has their own acute nurse practitioners who provide support for day to day activities on the unit.

Enhanced Care Unit (ECU)

The ECU has 4 beds and is located on Ward 1C. These beds are utilised to manage the sickest patients on the unit. 

Ambulatory Emergency Care (AEC): AEC provides an alternative to acute admission. We currently manage Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT), Pulmonary Embolism (PE) and cellulitis as ambulatory conditions.

Patients who have the above conditions are usually not admitted overnight and are discharged the same day with an appropriate management plan and follow up arranged.

Acute Medical Unit Clinics

These clinics enable us to discharge patients earlier than anticipated and are helping to minimise the patient's length of stay in the hospital. There are currently three clinics per week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. These clinics help us to follow any investigations that have been arranged prior to discharge and also check on patients' progress since discharge.