Our surgical ambulatory care units at Scunthorpe and Grimsby hospital treat surgical emergency patients who are not confined to a trolley and don’t need bed-based treatment.
If you are referred to one of our ambulatory units at either Scunthorpe or Grimsby hospital you will be seen by a senior clinician so decisions about their care can be made quickly, preventing where possible the need for you to be admitted to an inpatient bed.
Traditionally acute surgical patients are admitted to a hospital ward and assessed by a consultant to decide what diagnostics or treatment they might need.
Ambulatory care is based on the idea that some conditions can be managed without the need to admit people as an inpatient, as we have the appropriate diagnostic and support services to hand. You will receive the same treatment; you just won’t stay overnight.
You may be referred to SACU directly from your GP, an advanced nurse practitioner or doctors in the hospital’s accident and emergency department.
The types of patients accepted include those with non-specific abdominal pain, non-obstructed hernia, abscesses, and post-operative wounds. The units do not see trauma or orthopaedic cases or patients who are bleeding or septic.
Our aim is to treat you and send you home the same day in a timely manner. You may need a follow-up appointment at an outpatient clinic, or in some instances you may be identified as needing surgery in which case you will go home with a theatre date. There may also be instances where we need to admit you for treatment there and then. It is all about making sure you receive the right treatment, at the right time and in the right place.
