Weston General Hospital has a modern and busy Day Case Unit on the second floor of the hospital and increasing numbers of patients are choosing to have their treatment here.
More and more treatments and procedures are being offered to NHS patients as Day Cases - meaning no overnight stay in hospital is necessary and patients can rest and recuperate in their own homes.
Most of our care is delivered in the operating theatre, but some procedures, for example implants, are done on the ward, and interventional radiology go to xray for the procedure itself.
The Day Case Unit is not just there to deal with “lumps and bumps” - it handles a wide variety of surgery and other procedures including:
We also care for patients haing interventional radiology, and these patients are taken to x-ray by us.
In fact, the hospital now performs 89% of all its pre-booked surgery in the Day Case Unit.
Referrals to the Day Case Unit are through the Outpatients Department or from GP surgeries.
Many patients having surgery in main theatres come into the Theatre Receiving Unit first, and then come to the Day Case Unit for discharge following surgery.
Staff in the Day Case Unit are led by a Nursing Sister and pride themselves on working together as a flexible, but disciplined team. Each member of the team is trained to take the lead in one particular area of responsibility and their training is frequently refreshed to keep them up-to-date with the most modern and effective methods of delivering care. As one of them put it: “We share a common goal - to achieve patient safety and satisfaction through running an efficient unit.
“We aim to smooth the surgical pathway, providing high-quality care and to give guidance in aftercare and health promotion.” Indeed, part of the aftercare involves nurses being available to give telephone advice to patients if they have any concerns following their discharge from the Day Case Unit - a much-appreciated service.
It is our aim to provide patient-focused care, by giving patients and their carers freedom of choice, and placing them firmly at the centre of the framework. Through the Day Case Unit Care Pathway, we aim to deliver the overall pre-operative, peri-operative and post-operative surgical pathway, providing safe, efficient, effective high-quality care and give guidance in aftercare and health promotion. We offer opportunities to the staff to train to a high calibre for the ongoing delivery of care.
The Hospital is very proud of the friendly, relaxed and clean environment on the Day Case Unit and it is very popular with patients and their families too, always scoring well in the Friends and Family test.
And you don't have to take our word for it - below is a selection of comments from grateful patients...
If you would like any further information, please ring the Day Case Unit on 01934 647290 or email patient.enquiries@nhs.net
Day Case Unit
Weston Area Health NHS Trust
Grange Road
Uphill
Weston-super-Mare
BS23 4TQ
Tel: 01934 647290
Fax: 01934 881381