Short distances and improved processes: Kreisklinik Groß-Gerau commissions new holding station
Short distances and improved processes: Kreisklinik Groß-Gerau commissions new holding station
22.03.2023
Groß-Gerau, 22 March 2023. The Groß-Gerau District Hospital extends its range of services to include an interdisciplinary reception centre, or ‘holding station’ for short, for the care of outpatients and preoperative patients, as well as for the monitoring of emergency patients. The aim is to optimise reception and occupancy processes and to relieve caregivers. The station is located on the first floor of the clinic building on the former ‘Station 1a’. In recent pandemic years, the ward served as an overflow ward in the event of high numbers of patients in need of isolation.
Three nurses look after up to 18 beds on the holding station during the day. Her nursing management, Kveta Kovarik, had developed the idea in coordination with the nursing service management and then set up a concept for practical implementation. One month after the start of the trial period (1 February 2023), initial successes are emerging: Schedules for operations can be adhered to more accurately, nurses of the other wards are supported.
Kveta Kovarik says: "Our team at the holding station brings almost 30 years of experience in care, we know the house and its needs. With this new station, we can make processes faster and more effective. As a result, we all have more time for care and our patients feel well cared for. We have already received a lot of good feedback in recent weeks, both from colleagues and patients.”
All preoperative patients are first taken care of at the interdisciplinary reception centre and then prepared for their interventions. After the operations, the patients then come to the other wards (internal and surgical) for further inpatient care. Outpatients are treated at the holding station both before and after their procedure. This improves station procedures, visits and layoff preparations can be carried out more calmly and efficiently. In addition, the nurses of the new unit monitor patients of the central emergency department until the final clarification of their care needs, i.e. whether outpatient or inpatient treatment is necessary. This relieves the inpatient care teams. The holding station has no night care.
Nursing Service Manager Philipp Brunner on the new station: "The concept is aligned with our interdisciplinary and intersectoral approach and fits well into the daily processes. It is a modern project that extends our outpatient services and improves the quality of care for all our patients, while providing relief in the wards.”
With the holding station, the district clinic creates additional positions in nursing. Philipp Brunner explains: "The use at the holding station is attractive, as there are no night shifts and weekend services and there is more time for patient care."
Managing Director Prof. Erika Raab says: "I am very pleased that our intersectoral supply centre with the new holding station provides additional added value for the citizens of the Groß-Gerau district. This is an important balancing act between outpatient and inpatient care.”
Prof. Erika Raab explains: "This is very important because clinics suffer from complicated billing rules. If a hospital accepts a patient for safety after medical evaluation and later the health insurance company assesses that outpatient care would have been sufficient, it will be expensive for the house. Through the new ward, we can guarantee the safety of our patients without later falling into billing disputes.”
