Emergency Department
Our staff and service
The Emergency Department is based at the ‘front door’ of the hospital and specialises in the care of acutely ill and injured patients.
Various healthcare practitioners work in the Emergency Department, including doctors, nurses, advanced practitioners, physiotherapists, and psychiatric nurses. The care in the Emergency Department is supervised by specialist Consultants in Emergency Medicine (Emergency Physicians), whose job is to ensure that the patients passing through the departments receive emergency care of the highest possible standard.
The Emergency Department is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We have resuscitation facilities for the critically ill, cubicles to see patients with other emergency and urgent care needs, and access to investigations (such as blood tests and X-rays). The ED team aim to make a working diagnosis, start appropriate treatment/resuscitation, and give clinical advice. If the problem can’t be completely treated in the department, patients will be either admitted to hospital or referred on to other appropriate specialists.
We do not have expertise in primary care (general practice), and patients presenting with minor or primary care problems will be advised to contact their own GP or community pharmacist.
The department is open to patients of all ages with all emergency conditions, although there are some patients who may bypass Airedale to specialist centres such as the Acute Stroke Unit at Bradford or the Major Trauma Centre at Leeds. Patients may be streamed from triage directly to other areas of the hospital including the Ambulatory Care Unit.
Our Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) is also located in the Emergency Department and is open between 9am and 9pm, 7 days a week, and is staffed by Emergency Nurse Practitioners, nurses and healthcare support workers, with the oversight of an Emergency Physician.
What happens when patients arrive at the Emergency Department?
- Patients with immediately life threatening problems will be received in the resuscitation area for immediate assessment and treatment by a senior doctor.
- Other patients will be booked in to the department and will receive an initial assessment which includes some basic questions about what has happened, and many patients will have a set of observations recorded.
- Some patients will have some preliminary investigations and treatments arranged from their initial assessment. This may include blood tests, ECG’s, X-rays and pain relief.
- Each patient is given a triage category which identifies the priority order in which patients are seen. The more seriously unwell the patient is the sooner they will be seen by a doctor.
- Some patients will be advised that their complaint will be more appropriately dealt with by a GP and will be advised how to access a GP appointment.
- We have a dedicated Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) that is staffed by emergency nurse practitioners with support from doctors from our Emergency Department.
- Patients will then wait to see a doctor, Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACP) or Emergency Nurse Practitioner (ENP) who will ask some more detailed questions about the current problem and their medical history. They will then examine the patient and aim to make a diagnosis and provide treatment or advice. They may need to do some additional tests.
- For some patients it will be necessary to stay in hospital and a bed will be arranged on a suitable ward. A few patients may need to transfer to another hospital if they require more specialised care. Most patients will be discharged from the emergency department and will be advised of any appropriate follow up arrangements.
- Staff in the emergency department aim to see, treat and discharge or admit all patients within 4 hours of arrival.
Patient information leaflets
General - ED patient information leaflets
Title | Size | Download |
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ACU referral | 65.33 KB | DownloadPreview |
ED - PHARMACY MAP 2022 | 156.81 KB | DownloadPreview |
Emergency Department patients - general information | 135.84 KB | DownloadPreview |
Non-emergency attendance | 50.72 KB | DownloadPreview |
SID Patient Infomation | 82.30 KB | DownloadPreview |
Patient information leaflets (Adults)
Patient information leaflets (Children)
Title | Size | Download |
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Bronchiolitis | 123.77 KB | DownloadPreview |
Buckle fracture | 120.46 KB | DownloadPreview |
Clavicle fracture in children | 121.88 KB | DownloadPreview |
Constipation in children | 124.73 KB | DownloadPreview |
Croup | 156.41 KB | DownloadPreview |
Febrile convulsion | 145.12 KB | DownloadPreview |
Fever in children | 130.41 KB | DownloadPreview |
First non-febrile seizure in children - Airedale | 140.99 KB | DownloadPreview |
First non febrile seizure. Info for children | 1.99 MB | DownloadPreview |
First non febrile seizure. Info for parents | 1.09 MB | DownloadPreview |
Gastroenteritis (child) | 474.79 KB | DownloadPreview |
Head injury (child) | 140.98 KB | DownloadPreview |
Limping child | 132.33 KB | DownloadPreview |
Pulled elbow | 220.00 KB | DownloadPreview |
Useful Resources
NHS 111
111 online can tell you:
- where to get help for your symptoms, if you’re not sure what to do
- how to find general health information and advice
- where to get an emergency supply of your prescribed medicine
- how to get a repeat prescription
BBC’s NHS Tracker
During the winter, the BBC update an online tracker to keep you informed on how your local NHS services are coping.