Sam Rowlands, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, has welcomed the opening of a new Frailty Assessment Unit at Ysbyty Gwynedd to improve quality of care and patient experience.
Mr Rowlands said:
I am really pleased to see such a service now being offered to help reduce pressures on the emergency department at the hospital.
We all know about the problems in A&E departments across North Wales, with people waiting many hours for treatment and it is good to see some positive steps being taken to improve this.
I hope this new unit will provide a better service for frail elderly patients and help them to avoid unnecessarily being admitted to hospital so freeing up beds for other patients.
The unit has opened as part of efforts to help reduce pressures on the Emergency Department and to enhance the care provided to frail elderly patients to avoid hospital admissions.
Patients who attend the Emergency Department are screened by dedicated frailty teams, before being transferred to the unit for a comprehensive assessment and care by a specialist multidisciplinary team that includes geriatricians, therapists, pharmacists and nurses.
Dr Conor Martin, Consultant in the Care of the Elderly at Ysbyty Gwynedd, said:
As the population ages, hospitals across the UK are seeing an increase in frail, elderly patients, who are at higher risk of poor outcomes when admitted into hospital.
The feedback we have had so far in only the few weeks that the unit has been opened has been very positive. We are still in the early days but our aim is to ensure that our frail patients receive timely and appropriate care. This means some patients can discharged the same day, avoiding unnecessary hospital stays, and reducing the overall amount of time they spend in hospital, which we know is better for their ongoing wellbeing and recovery.
So far, the unit, which started operating only three weeks ago, has had 52 admissions, of these 60 per cent were discharged home.
Sam Rowlands AS yn tynnu sylw at uned newydd sydd wedi agor mewn ysbyty yn y Gogledd
Mae Sam Rowlands, yr Aelod o’r Senedd dros y Gogledd, wedi croesawu agoriad Uned Asesu Bregusrwydd newydd yn Ysbyty Gwynedd i wella ansawdd gofal a phrofiad cleifion.
Meddai Mr Rowlands:
Rwy'n falch iawn o weld gwasanaeth o'r fath bellach yn cael ei gynnig i helpu i ysgafnhau'r pwysau ar yr adran frys yn yr ysbyty.
Rydyn ni i gyd yn gwybod am y problemau mewn adrannau damweiniau ac achosion brys ledled y Gogledd, gyda phobl yn aros oriau lawer am driniaeth ac mae'n dda gweld camau cadarnhaol yn cael eu cymryd i wella hyn.
Rwy'n gobeithio y bydd yr uned newydd hon yn darparu gwell gwasanaeth i gleifion oedrannus a bregus ac yn eu helpu i osgoi cael eu derbyn i'r ysbyty yn ddiangen fel bod modd rhyddhau’r gwelyau i gleifion eraill.
Mae'r uned wedi agor fel rhan o'r ymdrechion i helpu i ysgafnhau'r pwysau ar yr Adran Achosion Brys ac i wella'r gofal a ddarperir i gleifion oedrannus bregus er mwyn osgoi derbyniadau i'r ysbyty.
Mae cleifion sy'n mynychu'r Adran Achosion Brys yn cael eu sgrinio gan dimau bregusrwydd ymroddedig, cyn cael eu trosglwyddo i'r uned ar gyfer asesiad cynhwysfawr a gofal gan dîm amlddisgyblaethol arbenigol sy'n cynnwys geriatregwyr, therapyddion, fferyllwyr a nyrsys.
Meddai’r Dr Conor Martin, Ymgynghorydd Gofal yr Henoed yn Ysbyty Gwynedd:
Wrth i'r boblogaeth heneiddio, mae ysbytai ledled y DU yn gweld cynnydd mewn cleifion bregus, oedrannus, sydd mewn mwy o berygl o brofi canlyniadau gwael wrth gael eu derbyn i'r ysbyty.
Mae'r adborth rydyn ni wedi'i gael hyd yma mewn cyfnod eithriadol fyr wedi bod yn gadarnhaol iawn. Mae’n ddyddiau cynnar o hyd ond ein nod yw sicrhau bod ein cleifion bregus yn cael gofal amserol a phriodol. Mae hyn yn golygu y gall rhai cleifion adael yr un diwrnod, osgoi arosiadau diangen yn yr ysbyty, a lleihau'r amser cyffredinol y maen nhw’n ei dreulio yn yr ysbyty, a gwyddom fod hyn yn well ar gyfer eu lles a'u gwellhad parhaus.
Hyd yma, mae'r uned, a agorodd ei drysau ddim ond tair wythnos yn ôl, wedi cael 52 o dderbyniadau, ac o’r rhain mae 60 y cant wedi'u rhyddhau i fynd adref.
