Addressing front-line pressures: improvement of patient flow from emergency department streaming to the ambulatory assessment unit at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University NHS Foundation Trust

The front line emergency services within the NHS are facing significant pressures, in particular over the winter period. Following the future hospitals report which recommended ambulatory care by default, an ambulatory assessment unit (AAU) was set up at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford in 2016. An NHS Improvement initiative including emergency department (ED) streaming and urgent care (GP) were also added to the ED structure at …