Quirónsalud Marbella Hospital implements a new protocol for the A&E Unit

Quirónsalud Marbella Hospital has implemented a project for the improvement of the A&E Unit’s infrastructure and organisation. This new medical service protocol emerged with the purpose of providing solutions to urgent needs of healthcare services and improving the medical assistance processes. The Marbella hospital is the private hospital of reference in the area with a total number of visits amounting to approximately 52,000 a year. During the Easter holiday period alone, over 30% of the total consultations take place at the A&E Unit.

The restructuration of the A&E Unit implies a structural internal change as well as the modification of the physical spaces of the Unit. In terms of the former, Miguel Ángel Ramírez, the Medical Director, highlights the creation of two medical service circuits which depend on the degree of severity of each patient’s condition. He reports that "the first contact for the patients is the triage unit where each case is evaluated for clinical priority. Depending on the case, various criteria are set out on a scale from 1 to 5. Scores 3 to 1 are considered as priorities and 4/5 are less severe cases."

The main purpose of the new organisational structure is to reduce the waiting times for people arriving in the A&E Unit of the hospital. In order to do so, some architectural changes have been decisive, such as the significant extension of the spaces dedicated to the A&E Unit as well as the creation of new areas for medical assistance. This is the case of a new observation area consisting of 12 stations (going from 2 to 4 beds and from 6 to 8 armchairs). Other areas have also been added such as a respiratory disease isolation area, 2 nursing triage areas, 1 critical patient area, 5 medical consultations (two more than previously) and the extension of a waiting room with an assistance area specific for international private patients.

Coordination amongst all the professionals of this unit is in the words of Alejandro Rodríguez, The A&E Nursing Unit, "key" to the new healthcare protocol that emerges with a vocation to continue into the forthcoming periods of high demand for medical assistance. This is a multidisciplinary and coordinated medical service characterised by a working structure called Single Act. "Once the patient has voluntarily been admitted to hospital, they are received at the triage unit where the severity of their cases is assessed. Following this sorting system, a professional medical team (doctor and nurse) assists them with the relevant treatment in order to discharge them as soon as medically possible".

The Quirónsalud Marbella Hospital is the private hospital of reference in the area, especially in the main holiday periods due to its location in Marbella, a key international tourist destination. Its strategic location on the beach front, together with its solid portfolio of services, has consolidated its unquestionable reputation in international patient service.