A FRIARAGE Hospital unit has been shortlisted for a national award for its work in helping patients receive faster care.

The combined medical and surgical assessment unit at the Northallerton hospital has been praised for reducing surgical admissions by more than a third and thus freeing up beds for people who really need them.

The unit sees hundreds of patients every month who need urgent diagnostics and treatment for conditions as diverse as skin infection and liver failure, but who are not unwell enough to need an overnight hospital stay - known as ambulatory care.

Since 2013, the service has expanded to allow these emergency patients to be treated as outpatients or even in their own homes.

They have also combined their service with OHPAT - outpatient and home parenteral antimicrobial therapy - and district-wide community nursing teams to provide care closer to home.

More recently the unit has also teamed up with surgical colleagues to create a combined medical and surgical assessment unit.

The model has seen a 46 per cent increase in elective activity and received very high patient satisfaction with excellent feedback.

Its success has resulted in it being adopted by the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough and the efforts of the Friarage team have been recognised by HSJ’s annual ‘Value in Healthcare Awards’ with the unit being shortlisted in the ‘acute service redesign’ category.

Consultant in infectious diseases Dr James Dunbar said closer collaboration with colleagues has been an important part of the unit’s success.

He added: “By creating this combined unit, essentially what we’ve done is streamlined the assessment process for patients, allowing them to receive the correct treatment they need far quicker, often without the need for admission

“The team are providing excellent same-day emergency care for the benefit of hundreds of patients and it means more surgical and medical beds are now available for people who really need to be in a hospital bed.”

The Friends of the Friarage Hospital were hugely influential in getting the ambulatory unit up and running, donating £42,000 towards an ECG machine, beds, pumps, trollies and furniture.