A UNIT has been opened at The Grange for surgery patients who need urgent further treatment to help ease pressures in A&E.

The Same Day Emergency Care Unit has been opened to provide same day assessments and treatment, meaning patients who have had operations can receive emergency care without needing to be admitted to hospital overnight.

This, the health board has said, should free up beds for those who need them most, and reduce pressures on the emergency department.

NHS Wales performance data published last week showed – across Wales – 32.8 per cent of patients were waiting more than four hours in emergency departments for more than four hours, with 10,230 patients waiting 12 hours or more.

Patients are unable to self-present to the Same Day Emergency Care Unit, but instead need to be first assessed either by a GP or a triage nurse.

A spokesman for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said: “The Same Day Emergency Care Unit at The Grange University Hospital, which opened in August 2022, allows some surgical patients to receive urgent same-day assessment and treatment for conditions such as hernias, abscesses and wound problems, without needing to be admitted to hospital overnight.

“The new unit is designed to ensure more patients receive more timely emergency care, and to relieve pressure on our Emergency Department and Surgical Assessment Unit.

“Patients must be referred into the unit by their GP or triage nurse- they are unable to self-present.”

The health board confirmed that the unit was introduced after investment from the Welsh Government.

“Our Emergency Department and services remain extremely busy and we know that the coming winter season will bring further pressures,” said a health board spokesman.

“To help ease these pressures, we have recently introduced a new Same Day Emergency Care Unit at The Grange University Hospital. 

“This new unit, developed with investment from Welsh Government, provides same day assessments and treatment.

“This means that more patients will be able to receive emergency care without needing to be admitted to hospital overnight, freeing up beds for those who need them most.”