233 Introduction of the Head and Neck Same Day Emergency Care Service (HNSDEC)

Aim The development of SDEC (Same Day Emergency Care) has been a priority for the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, as part of its long-term plan to reduce demand on hospital resources. HNSDEC (Head and Neck Same Day Emergency Care) has been developed to aim to improve patient care and experience as well as reducing demand on emergency and urgent care services. Method An unused patient bay on the Head and Neck inpatient ward at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust was transformed into HNSDEC after the procurement of additional equipment and recruitment and training of Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs). Pathways were then developed for treatment of ENT and OMFS patients – both for either same day review or a scheduled review in ‘hot clinic’. Working with informatics, performance metrics have been analysed, and questionnaires were distributed to ascertain patient satisfaction. Results Within the first 6 months of opening, we have seen 796 patients with an admission rate of 8.6% across both ENT and OMFS. HNSDEC has been very well received by those within the emergency and urgent care services with positive feedback demonstrating its impact. Conclusions In order to continue building on the early success of HNSDEC, we propose that the service be moved to a different location to allow for expansion and to ensure sustainability for the future with a bigger waiting area to improve patient flow. An ongoing focus on inter-departmental collaboration and education to continue to provide the best possible patient care and experience.