Son Espases frees up 32 beds each week with a unit for operated patients

PalmaSon Espases Hospital has attended to 540 patients during the first year of operation of the Surgical Patient Observation Unit (UOPI), a service aimed at people who require medical surveillance after a surgical intervention for a maximum of 24 hours. According to the Ministry of Health, more than 96% of cases are resolved without the need for admission to a conventional hospitalization ward. The unit was created to adapt the hospital stay to the needs of patients who require a brief period of postoperative recovery. Before it was launched, these patients spent an average of two days admitted to a conventional ward. Now, the new model allows for the freeing up of 32 hospital beds each week, according to the data provided by Health.

The UOPI currently has eight beds operating from Monday to Friday. Care is permanently guaranteed by a nurse and a nursing assistant, with the participation of the medical specialists from the areas corresponding to each patient. The service is designed for people who, after an intervention, need a period of observation in a medicalized environment, but do not require prolonged hospitalization. Among the candidate patients are those coming from Interventional Radiology, Digestive Surgery, and Otorhinolaryngology.

In fact, Traumatology, Digestive Surgery, and Otorhinolaryngology account for 58% of the cases that pass through this unit. The Admissions Service of Son Espases estimates that approximately 20% of patients who undergo surgery daily at the hospital could benefit from this type of postoperative admission of less than 24 hours.

More bed availability

The implementation of the unit also aims to improve the management of healthcare resources, especially in the face of the increase in activity in emergency services. By preventing patients who only need brief observation from occupying conventional beds for longer than necessary, the hospital gains capacity to attend to other admissions. Furthermore, the model allows patients to be kept under observation for longer than if they were to go directly to a ward, according to the Ministry of Health. The hospital also plans to streamline the necessary procedures for discharge. The idea is that, once the patient has gone through the operating room, the recovery room, and the UOPI, the physician can process the documentation in accordance with previously established criteria, as is already done in major ambulatory surgery.