A new urgent and emergency care system that coordinates patient data in emergency departments (ED) is being implemented in Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board early in 2016.

  

This new Welsh Emergency Department System (WEDS) will enable the electronic capture of data for the whole of the patient journey and provide live tracking of each patient in the departments. New devices have been installed to facilitate easy access to the system for all staff and large screen TVs will display the tracking grid to show the status of patients in the departments at all times.

  

The devices can show:

• where patients are in the department
• if patients are waiting for test results
• if patients are in X-Ray
• if a specialist review is required and has been carried out
• if an inpatient bed is required

At the touch of a button, users can view the full patient record and ED history, and able to see if a patient has attended another ED in the health board or, once the system is rolled out across Wales, any other health board.

  

The implementation of the new ED system, expected to rollout across all Welsh health boards, will start with Princess of Wales and Neath Port Talbot sites in coming months, followed by Morriston ED in Swansea and sites in Betsi Cadwaladr later in 2016.