9 January 2019

In late December, ANMF sought clarity regarding the use of the 1A bedspace on the Assessment Planning Unit (APU) after a large number of memberss raised concerns regarding the safety of this space. ANMF were provided with the follow response to a request for information:

To continue to provide safe care to our patients, and ensure our staff are working in a safe environment it has been agreed that the APU will remain at 28 beds, however the treatment room, which is a much larger space, will operate as a permanent bed space. This allows bed space 1A to be utilised in times of need, when flow and escalation levels are high at level 4 and for negotiation with the Nurse Unit Manager (NUM) and or Assistant Nurse Unit Manager (ANUM) at other levels of escalation to ensure that we have a safe working environment for all and our hospital. In these instances, using clinical judgement, the NUM/ANUM will assess the patients within the APU and those allocated to APU to determine if an appropriate patient can be allocated to this bedspace.