The number of beds in the Acute Medical Unit (AMU), a high-acuity care service for adults, at Canberra Hospital will double from 12 to 24.

Health minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said expanding the AMU will improve patient flow, provide better health outcomes for patients, and ease pressure on the hospital’s emergency department (ED).

“We hope to see an increase in patients moving out of ED and into the AMU more quickly, and even see some patients discharged straight from AMU when they don’t need to be admitted to a specialist ward,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.

The AMU has higher staff to patient ratios than general inpatient wards, and includes dedicated medical, nursing, allied health, and support staff.

The multidisciplinary team assesses patients and plans care pathways so they can be discharged from hospital sooner, rather than remaining in the ED while they wait to be admitted to another inpatient ward.

Ms Stephen-Smith said transferring appropriate patients to the AMU from ED frees up more beds in the ED and provides better health outcomes for patients.

“The AMU model improves access to these enhanced early care services for complex patients, speeding up the journey through ED, admitting patients to the right ward at the right time, and reducing the overall length of stay,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.

The pilot AMU program has run since December 2021. Staff and patients transferred to the unit thought highly of it, Ms Stephen-Smith said.

Dr Anna Nakauyaca, Medical Director of the Acute Medical Unit, said sub-specialty consultants will care for AMU patients alongside the multidisciplinary team, where needed.

“While the AMU multidisciplinary team can assess and start providing care pathways sooner, there may be some patients who are well known to specific medical teams at the hospital, and require their input for continuity of care,” Dr Nakauyaca said.

“The AMU will not replace that, but rather work with these consultants to start care early and safely.”

Ms Stephen-Smith said the AMU expansion was part of the ACT Government’s broader investment in improving patient flow and ED performance. This includes more medical officers, nurses, and allied health professionals; dedicated nursing staff supporting patients in the waiting room; a Paediatric Short Stay Unit; and five more Nurse Practitioners at Walk-in Centres.