About The Wellington Hospital Acute Admissions Unit
Located on the ground floor of our South Building, of the ten rooms available in our AAU, six are fitted out to ITU standards. There is a resident intensivist with on call anaesthetist, interventional radiologist and physicians available. This means patients in need of urgent, high dependency or intensive care can benefit from rapid specialist care on admission, without having to be moved to another ward.
With dedicated on-site staff including a resident doctor trained to registrar level or beyond and 24-hour access to consultants from a range of specialties, the AAU offers rapid assessment and treatment for acute and complex needs via a GP or consultant referral.
AAU provides
- 24/7 Rapid Referral service
- 24/7 Consultant led service
- Easy to access
- Rapid patient assessment
- Direct access to state-of-the-art diagnostics and imaging
- Access to intensive care facilities, including Level 2 & 3 ICU beds
- Dedicated medical and nursing staff
- Comprehensive communication with referring doctor - every GP and consultant is kept fully informed
about their patient’s progression and treatment plan
Common conditions we treat
Our consultants treat and care for the full range of acute conditions, from the more common to the complex:
- Respiratory conditions, including: pneumonia and COPD
- Cardiac conditions, including: left ventricular failure and unstable angina
- Neurological conditions, including: TIA and non-thrombolysis stroke
- Surgical conditions, including: acute biliary problems, acute appendicitis and intestinal obstruction
- Other general medical problems, such as: DVT, pulmonary embolism and worsening diabetes
Admission exclusions
• Patients with Covid-19 or presenting with Covid-19 symptoms.
• Patients with acute stroke or STEMIs.
• Patients who require acute mental health intervention.
The admissions process
- Step 1 - Patient presents with acute symptoms
- Step 2 - GP or Consultant* refers patient to Acute Admissions Unit (AAU)
- Step 3 - Consultant on call receives referral – undertakes telephone COVID-19 screening with referrer
- Step 4 - Consultant on call contacts AAU team and provides booking form
- Step 5 - Patient arrives at the AAU and rapid COVID-19 swab is completed
- Step 6 - Treatment plan agreed
- Step 7 - Patient is stabilised and discharged, or alternatively, requires further treatment and moved onto appropriate floor
How do I make an admission?
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Steps icon plus
- 1. Contact our 24/7 acute admissions unit line by calling 020 7483 5999 and speak to one of our acute admissions advisors
- 2. Provide the AAU advisor with the patient’s medical history and the reason for admission
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Private medical insurance icon plus
Pre-authorisation for acute medical admissions, investigation and treatment should always be obtained from the private medical insurer. Preauthorisation from the private medical insurer may not always be possible in a medical emergency, particularly out of hours and at weekends.
In situations where pre-authorisation from the private medical insurer has not been obtained, patients will be treated as self-pay patients and a deposit will be required by the hospital on admission.
Highly qualified resident medical officers
"At The Wellington only experienced, post-graduate doctors can work in our hospital as a registrar. This means that, even when a consultant is off site or in theatre, there is a highly qualified medical doctor on site to care for your patients."
24-hour consultant rotas
Through the establishment of a 24-hour consultant rota, he has ensured there is always at least one consultant available in a range of fields such as medicine, orthopaedics, neurology, to tend to patients across the hospital.
“Ensuring we always have a consultant available means the hospital can carry out very complex surgery. If a patient develops a gynaecological problem while recovering from a hip replacement, or needs cardiac care after spinal surgery, our 24-hour consultant rota enables us to respond very quickly to the patients needs.”
Our safety protocols
The following are a few of the many safety measures implemented within the AAU:
- We are limiting the number of patients who can access our rehabilitation gyms at any one time
- We are following best practice on infection prevention including enhanced hand hygiene and dedicated hand wash stations at all entrances
- We temperature check all patients at our hospital entrances
- Additional PPE usage to protect patients, staff and consultants
- A hospital wide policy conducting COVID testing for staff
- A hospital wide policy on the use of face masks for all staff, consultants and patients
- Adjusted visitor policy to balance safety and patient needs
- Increased cleaning of patient rooms, waiting areas and commonly touched surfaces.
Our location
The Wellington South Building, Wellington Place
St. John's Wood
London NW8 9LE
The Acute Admissions Unit is based in the South building of The Wellington Hospital in St. John's Wood, North West London
Contact the Acute Admissions Unit
If you’d like to receive more information, you can call or email us and we'll be happy to help.
Call
020 7483 5999