Ambulatory Emergency Care - Primary Care Referral Information

The Ambulatory Care service provides an improved service that allows patients to receive timely assessment for a range of conditions. By providing a direct link with the GP it enhances the patient experience by improving efficiency and direct access to medical staff and investigations. The AEC Unit is run by the Consultant Acute Care Physicians (ACP) who oversea a team comprised of Acute Medicine medical trainess and two Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs). The service has a number of established treatment pathways for the investigation and management of:

The AEC Unit is open Monday to Friday 10am to 6pm. Patients ideally need to arrive prior to 4pm in order to allow time for assessment, but may need to come back the following day in order to complete all investigations and assessments. Multiple attendances within the same clinical episode only generate a single tariff.

 Kingston Hospital site map, AEC location.

How to make a referral:

If you would like to discuss potential AEC patients or indeed ANY patient with an ACP please call 07715 808 241, please fill in an AMB score sheet prior to phoning. This phone is carried from 7am to 1am 7 days a week by a Consultant. The service has no answerphone element so if the phone is engaged please call again after a couple of minutes or phone switchboard on 020 8546 7711 and ask to be put on hold for the GP phone.

The AMB Score (click here, on page 2) will help guide you as to the suitability of your patients for the AEC, but if in doubt or if the patient’s score is border-line simply phone and there will always be someone happy to discuss the case with you.

Referral for Acute Physician Review

This service enables GPs or any community-based provider to refer any medical patient for assessment, diagnosis and treatment by a Consultant ACP, bypassing the Emergency Department so patients can be seen directly within the Medical Acute Assessment Unit (AAU). Please call the same number as the AEC to discuss the case even if the patient does not fit neatly into any pre-existing treatment pathway.

• Please ensure you have a set of vital signs available as per NEWS (Click here, page 2).
• Patients can be referred for “off-pathway” ACP review on the AAU trolleys between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday.
• If you are referring between the hours of 1am and 7.30am from the Out of Hours service you will need to speak to the medical registrar on call, bleep number 174 via hospital switchboard.

Your are required to undertake the AMB & AEC Score sheet prior to speaking to the Acute Care Physician so the relevant information is to hand. Click here to access (Pages 2-3).

IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO LOCATE THE FORMS OR HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE SIMPLY CALL THE ACP PHONE LINE AND WE WILL BE HAPPY TO DISCUSS ALL PATEINTS WITH YOU.

Emergency Surgical Admissions

Contact main switchboard, bleep 908 for general surgery, or 630 for orthopaedic surgery.

Emergency Direct Access:

• Rapid Access Chest Pain Clinic - Runs Mond PM & Wed, Thurs all day in the Cardiology Department. Fax number: 020 8934 2898, enquiries call: 020 8934 3854.
• First Fit Clinic - Clinics run Monday mornings, referrals can be sent via fax: 020 8934 3391. Enquiries call 020 8934 3467.
• Direct Access Head CT - Open Mon-Fri 8:00-17:00. Send patient to CT with request form, requests can also be made via Ordercomms. Enquiry call: 020 8934 2147.
• Acute Oncology Clinic - via AO service in William Rous Unit.

 Useful Contacts:

• Andy Mitchell, Advanced Nurse Practitioner - 020 8934 3883
• Alex Dunkerley, DVT Nurse - 020 8934 6416
• AEC Reception - 020 8934 3651
• A&E Majors - 020 8934 2180
• A&E Coordinator - 020 8934 2178
• Medical Reg - Bleep 174
• Surgical Reg - Bleep 909, SHO 908
• Orthopaedic SHO - Bleep 630
• Children's A&E - 0208 934 2915

A&E consultants are all available on mobiles via switchboard.