Emergency Surgical Unit Assessment Bay (Gloucestershire Royal Hospital)
Welcome to the Emergency Surgical Unit Assessment Bay. You have been referred to us by your GP or by the Emergency Department for further tests or investigations of your condition.
Assessment
On admission to the unit, you will be asked not to eat anything, as some investigations require you to have an empty stomach. You can drink water unless you are advised to remain nil by mouth. You will be seen by a member of the team, who will complete a set of observations.
These will include taking your blood pressure and pulse. You will also have a small sample of blood taken for testing. Some patients may have a cannula (small tube) inserted into a vein in their arm to allow staff to take a sample of your blood for testing. If this is the case the cannula will be left in your arm to allow pain relief or intravenous fluids to be given if needed. If you have any concerns at this point, please discuss these with a member of staff.
You will be asked to wait to be assessed by either the doctor or Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP). Please be patient, we know you are here but we may be seeing other patients who are unwell or need urgent attention. When the doctor or ANP is available you will be taken to a treatment room and you may be examined. You can have a relative or carer present, or if you prefer you can request to have a member of staff be with you during the assessment.
Following this consultation, any necessary tests or investigations will be requested.
Investigations
Some investigations may need to be arranged with other departments, for example with radiology, because of this there may be a long wait.
Sometimes more than one investigation is needed, which may require you to come back to the unit the following day. If we can, we will give you a time for the test, however this is not always possible and may mean you waiting again for some considerable time.
If we are unable to give you an appointment time on the day of your assessment or you have to return the following day for a test, we may take your contact number so that we can inform you of your appointment time when we have it.
Consultation and diagnosis
Once we have all of your results we will be able to make a diagnosis and you will be seen by either the On Call Consultant or the Surgical Registrar. They will be aware of your admission and will attend the unit as soon as they are able. We cannot always give you a specific time and do value your patience.
Treatment plan
Once you have your diagnosis, you may need surgery or further inpatient investigations. If this is the case you will be admitted to a ward. If you do not need surgery but we feel we would like to continue to monitor your symptoms, you will be given a time and date to come back for further assessment. If we can complete your treatment on this visit, you will be discharged.
Once you have been discharged, if you feel your symptoms are worse or you start to feel unwell, please contact the unit for advice. We can reassess patients up to 48 hours following discharge. After this time, please see your GP or contact NHS 111 for advice.
Contact
Emergency Surgical Unit
Tel: 0300 422 5616
24 hours
We welcome any feedback, good or bad to try and improve our services