Delayed new hospital unit welcomes first patients

The long-awaited new Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) at Our Lady"s Hospital, Navan, designed to relieve pressure on the accident and emergency unit in the hospital, has finally opened more than six months behind schedule. The MAU, which has six treatment bays, is a short-stay medical assessment area and is designed address urgent and semi-urgent medical cases. The MAU had been due to open by July of this year but was delayed amid concerns that funding would not be available to staff the unit due to budgetary constraints. The unit finally opened last week. According to the HSE Dublin North-East, the MAU will 'focus on rapid ambulatory medical assessment, expedited work up and early treatment initiation'. The unit is staffed by a multidisciplinary team consisting mainly of medical nursing staff with support services such as radiologists, cardiac technicians and laboratory staff, as required. The HSE has said the new unit will 'relieve pressure on the emergency department as stable emergency patients in the emergency department can, if appropriate, be transferred to the new unit for treatment'. The new unit will accept direct referrals from GPs, which means patients can be referred directly to the MAU without having to go through A&E. GPs in the area have been advised of the new unit, its operational policies and the GP referral process. 'The purpose of the MAU will be to provide enhanced and appropriate access for all patients presenting with medical complaints, whether referred by their GP or those presenting via the emergency department. It will provide improved quality of care for patients, relieve pressure and overcrowding in the emergency department and reduce inappropriate admissions to in-patient beds,' said Ann Martin, HSE North-East press officer. Medical Assessment Units are already operating successfully in a number of other hospitals around the country, including Waterford Regional Hospital, St Luke"s in Kilkenny and the Midlands Regional Hospital, Mullingar. According to the HSE, the benefits to patients include the reduction of acute admissions which will subsequently result in increased in-patient bed capacity. For example, in St Luke"s Hospital in Kilkenny which has a MAU, at least 38 per cent of medical attendances are discharged on the same day following diagnosis and treatment. Medical Assessment Units are also due to open at Cavan General Hospital and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda. Monitoring equipment for the new unit has been donated by the Friends of Our Lady"s Hospital, and the HSE Dublin North-East has acknowledged their support. The opening of the hospital"s new unit has been welcomed by Transport Minister and Meath West TD Noel Dempsey, who said: 'This is fantastic news for Navan. I was given assurances some time ago by the HSE that this excellent new facility would be opened in Navan and I am pleased that this day has now come. 'I am disappointed that it has taken so long to get to this stage, but we are here now.' He added: 'I was never in any doubt about the clear benefits that would accrue to patients once this MAU was in place. That"s why I have fought so hard for it to come about. The facility opened last Monday and feedback so far from patients and staff has been excellent.' Mr Dempsey added that the MAU would relieve pressure that the emergency department at Our Lady"s has experienced over recent months. 'This MAU is a model proven to deliver results. MAUs have been successful in Waterford Regional Hospital and St Luke"s in Kilkenny and Mullingar. I am certain that the Navan MAU will be equally successful,' he said. The new unit has also been welcomed by Sinn Fein Cllr Joe Reilly. He said: 'The long awaited opening of the MAU is to be welcomed. It will be particularly appreciated by patients and staff. Local GPs have long campaigned for a MAU as they firmly believe it will help save lives.' Cllr Reilly said the opening of the unit will lift the morale of the staff at Our Lady"s Hospital who have 'had to witness the run-down and removal of services from the hospital over the years'. He said that in St Luke"s Hospital, where there is a MAU, at least 38 per cent of medical attendances are discharged the same day following diagnosis and treatment and that if Our Lady"s Hospital was as successful, it would create extra bed capacity in the hospital. However, Cllr Reilly has raised concerns that the emergency department in Our Lady"s will close in the new year. He said: 'My only concern is that it is only an 8am to 8pm service and that, in the new year, the HSE will close the A&E unit in Our Lady"s Hospital and force people to travel to an overcrowded A&E in Drogheda.' The Medical Assessment Unit is open from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, with the last assessments being accepted at 5pm. Weekend and bank holiday hours are from 9am to 5pm with last assessments being accepted at 3pm.