People taken to hospital by ambulance for emergency treatment will be assessed quicker thanks to an expanded unit.

The assessment area for patients arriving at Maidstone Hospital's emergency department has more than doubled in size, with room to handle up to seven cases at any one time.

Known as the Rapid Assessment Point (RAP), the facility is used to review arrivals and ensure they are quickly seen by the correct medical staff.

John Clulow, a consultant at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, said: "RAP is a national best practice tool designed to support best patient care.

"Patients who arrive by ambulance are taken to RAP where they are assessed by a senior clinical decision maker, such as an emergency medicine registrar or consultant.

"That person can then either refer the patient to a speciality such as the medical or surgical teams or order tests or images to help diagnose a patient so those investigations are ready when they are assessed by the next emergency clinician, speeding up their visit to the department."

The expansion of the assessment area cost £400,000, which includes plans to convert the former RAP area into further clinical space.

"The ambulance crew is then able to get back on the road and respond to the next emergency...

Speeding up the process for admitting emergency arrivals by ambulance should also benefit the availability of ambulances for other cases.

"Increasing RAP’s capacity at Maidstone Hospital allows rapid handover of the patient’s care from ambulance to our staff," John Clulow said.

"As a result the ambulance crew is then able to get back on the road and respond to the next emergency call in the community."

A South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust spokesman said: "We welcome this expansion which will improve care and ensure more patients can be handed over to the care of our hospital colleagues as swiftly and safely as possible.

"We work closely with hospitals across our region to ensure ambulance crews can hand over patients in a timely manner and be available to respond to patients requiring an emergency response in the community."

A new £8m purpose-built Acute Assessment Unit opened at the hospital in March, just two weeks before the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

It houses 14-short stay beds, eight assessment beds and a treatment suite with three separate treatment rooms.

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