Proposal to expand sickle cell service and move Medical Day Care Unit
We seeking views on a proposal to move a Medical Day Care Unit from Central Middlesex Hospital to Ealing Hospital, and to expand the sickle cell service at Central Middlesex Hospital.
The Medical Day Care Unit provides a range of nurse-led day treatments and procedures like intravenous drips, infusions and injections. It is open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday and most people attend by appointment.
Our sickle cell day care service at Central Middlesex Hospital shares space with the Medical Day Care Unit. This service provides blood transfusions and pain relief for our sickle cell patients. Sickle cell predominantly affects the black community and can cause bouts of severe pain. It is vital that we offer high quality care for people living with sickle cell in our communities and we want to expand the sickle cell day care facility to better meet the needs of the local population.
Moving the Medical Day Care Unit to Ealing Hospital would create the space we need at Central Middlesex Hospital to expand the sickle cell service. We have funding from NHS England to do this.
Also, moving the Medical Day Care Unit to Ealing Hospital means it could work alongside the hospital’s Same Day Emergency Care services, where some patients who might otherwise have been admitted to hospital are assessed, diagnosed and treated on the same day they arrive. The two services working together would relieve pressure on the hospital’s emergency department, so it could focus more on critically ill patients. This would also help reduce overcrowding and waiting times at Ealing Hospital’s emergency department.
This is not possible at Central Middlesex Hospital because it does not have a Same Day Emergency Care service or an emergency department (it does have an urgent treatment centre for common problems that are not life-threatening).
Although we believe the move has benefits for sickle cell, medical day care and emergency patients, we want to understand other ways the change might affect patients, their families, or the people they care for.
We are therefore holding two public involvement events to hear people’s views before we make any final decision. The first will be held on the 15 December at Central Middlesex Hospital from 12pm to 1pm. The second event is online only also on the 15 December from 6.30pm to 7.30pm.
Details of both events are on Eventbrite. Please register your attendance on EventBrite.
Your involvement with this proposal will help us understand how the change might affect local communities. It will also guide us in making sure patients get the right care, at the right time, in the right place.