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Acute medical units during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-national exploratory study of impact and responses.
Soong, John Ty; Wong, Audrey LA; O'Connor, Imogen; Marinova, Milka; Fisher, Dale; Bell, Derek.
  • Soong JT; National University Hospital, Singapore, assistant professor, National University of Singapore, Singapore, and honorary senior clinical lecturer, Imperial College London, London, UK John_Soong@nuhs.edu.sg.
  • Wong A; National University Hospital, Singapore, and assistant professor, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
  • O'Connor I; Imperial College London, London, UK, and research assistant, Applied Research Collaboration Northwest London, UK.
  • Marinova M; Imperial College London, London, UK.
  • Fisher D; National University Hospital, Singapore, and professor of medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
  • Bell D; Imperial College London, London, UK.
Clin Med (Lond) ; 21(5): e462-e469, 2021 09.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1352933
ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

The COVID-19 pandemic represents one of the greatest ever challenges for healthcare. In the UK and beyond, acute medical units (AMUs) are the first point of assessment and care for the majority of medical inpatients. By their design and systems, they inevitably played an important role in the COVID-19 response but to date little has been published on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected how AMUs have reorganised their resources, processes and structure.

METHODS:

This retrospective study in August 2020 of 10 AMUs across Europe and Australasia used a standardised questionnaire to investigate existing practice and structure of AMUs, the national context of local hospital experience, changes to practice during the COVID-19 pandemic and views regarding future practice.

RESULTS:

Changes to AMU structure, process and organisation are described in two contexts preventing and controlling the spread of COVID-19 and adding value to the patient's acute care journey in the local context. We describe novel practices that have arisen and highlight areas of concern.

CONCLUSIONS:

The AMUs were able to adapt to meet the demands of acute care delivery during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Operational planning and prioritisation of resources must be optimised to ensure sustainability of these services for future waves.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Pandemics / COVID-19 Type of study: Experimental Studies / Observational study / Prognostic study / Randomized controlled trials Limits: Humans Language: English Journal: Clin Med (Lond) Year: 2021 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Clinmed.2021-0150

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Pandemics / COVID-19 Type of study: Experimental Studies / Observational study / Prognostic study / Randomized controlled trials Limits: Humans Language: English Journal: Clin Med (Lond) Year: 2021 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Clinmed.2021-0150