More than 500 patients have been treated at the Sete Rios Clinical Care Center since it opened two weeks ago, the local health department of Santa Maria (ULSSM), in which this CAC is integrated, reported this Friday.
Of the 551 treated, about 50% were referred by the Central Emergency Service of Santa Maria Hospital (11% with green and blue bracelets for less urgent cases) and the other half by the SNS 24 line, the ULSSM said in a statement.
“Over these two weeks, only five users were transferred from the CAS to the Central Emergency Service – less than 1% of the total number of patients – none of whom required hospitalisation, demonstrating the safety of the referral process.”
It is also noted that “after the user is hospitalized, the delay before the first appointment with a doctor does not exceed 10 minutes.”
Care at the CAC was provided by ULSSM’s multidisciplinary teams, who also performed approximately 200 nursing visits and 60 diagnostic tests, including blood tests, X-rays and electrocardiograms.
“This is another response that aims, on the one hand, to avoid inappropriate waiting times and, on the other, to prevent unauthorized access to our central emergency department, which is extremely differentiated and prepared for emergencies and emergencies, as required and prescribed by the University Hospital,” said ULS Santa Maria President Carlos Martins, quoted in the statement.
The CAC operates seven days a week, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and is expected to have three physicians, two nurses, two senior diagnostic and therapeutic specialists, a technical assistant, an administrative secretary, and a medical assistant on a shift.
The creation of clinical care centres (CCCs) to provide care for less complex and urgent acute situations, which will act as a ‘crown of defence’ for hospital emergency services, is included in the Government’s Emergency and Health Transformation Plan.
At the end of the inaugural visit of this first CAC, on the 1st, the Minister of Health, Ana Paula Martins, announced that in the last week of this month she would open a Clinical Assistance Centre at the Hospital da Prelada in Porto, with the same objective of freeing emergency hospitals from non-urgent cases.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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