ACUTE MEDICINE

The acute medicine departments at Ipswich and Colchester hospital provide a high-quality, rapid medical assessment service to a population of over 800,000. The acute medical team work closely with General Practitioners (GPs) and the Emergency Department to review and manage patients who present with a wide range of medical conditions.

Ipswich Hospital

The acute medicine team comprises of a large multidisciplinary team of consultants, junior doctors, advanced nurse and care practitioners, senior nurses and therapy teams. There are 7 consultants and 4 registrars. There is also a large team of foundation, ACCS, GP trainees and IMT doctors.

The department at Ipswich hospital comprises of an emergency assessment unit (EAU), and an ambulatory same-day emergency care unit (AMSDEC). There are also 6 acute medicine wards with 28beds each. The acute medicine team provides a consultant-led service from 8am-8pm, 7 days a week. This includes daily consultantled ward rounds.

Colchester Hospital

The acute medicine team at Colchester hospital is made up of several trust grade registrars and IMT 3 doctors. Alongside them is a large team of consultants, ACCS, GP trainees, IMT1/2 and foundation doctors.

The acute medicine department is responsible for the care of all patients in the emergency assessment unit (EAU) and the ambulatory same-day emergency care unit (AMSDEC). This includes all patients on the acute-take who have been referred by the emergency department or by the GP.

A typical day for a registrar involves reviewing patients on EAU who have already been seen on a post-take ward round. Typically, this is around 20-25 patients a day. Other days, responsibilities include clerking patients, accepting referrals and managing the acute medical take.