First of its kind unit opens at Prince of Wales Hospital

A brand new service, known as the Community Assessment Unit (CAU), has just opened in the Acute Services Building at Randwick.

The new inpatient unit will support the management of patients in the community with chronic and complex health conditions.

Comprised of a multidisciplinary team, the CAU provides a direct link to the community, whereby people being treated by their GP can be referred to the hospital for specialist care, rather than being admitted through the ED.

This service will help to reduce pressure on the ED and is unique to SESLHD, with no other LHD providing a community-facing assessment unit like this.

CAU Nurse Unit Manager, Brenton Ciani, is excited to be leading the new unit and explains how the service is going to improve patient care at Prince of Wales Hospital.

“The CAU has been purposefully designed to reduce the inpatient length of stay. Having a dedicated multidisciplinary team means staff can provide rapid patient assessments without having to page specialists from other parts of the hospital. It’s like a one-stop shop!” said Brenton.

“What I think is most fantastic about the CAU, is that it is strategically designed to improve access to healthcare and provide another door for the community to receive care that’s specific to their needs. Having worked in ED, I can see the benefit the CAU will have for our ED staff and patients by taking some of the pressure off. It’s a whole new way to think about patient flow, and how we can improve the experience of healthcare for our community.”