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Acute Medicine

What we do

We treat patients who need short-term hospital treatment because of an acute (sudden and severe) illness. We provide rapid specialist assessment and treatment, and see people who need medical rather than surgical care.

Patients are referred to us by the King’s Emergency Department or by their GP.

If you come to the Emergency Department with a medical illness, the Acute Medical team will review you. If you need to be admitted as an inpatient, you will be cared for in one of our Acute Medical wards – Annie Zunz Ward or Guthrie Ward.

If you recover within three days, you will be discharged back to your GP’s care. You may also be given a follow-up appointment at our outpatient clinic, the Ambulatory Care Unit.

If you need to stay in hospital for longer than three days, you will be transferred to a general medical ward at King’s.

We treat most medical conditions, for example: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), pneumonia, cellulitis, urinary tract infections, deep vein thrombosis, and clots on the lung (pulmonary embolism).

Outpatient clinic – the Ambulatory Care Unit

Our specialised outpatient clinic is called the Ambulatory Care Unit (ACU). The ACU is designed for patients who have a medical condition that can be treated without the need to stay overnight in hospital. The ACU is referral-only, and sees patients who:

  • have been referred to us by their GP or by the Emergency Department, because they are medically unwell
  • or who have been treated before on one of our Acute Medical wards and need further review.

For further information, please see our patient information leaflet below.

Locations

  • Ambulatory Care Unit (ACU): Ground floor, Hambleden wing (co-located with the Emergency Department)
  • Acute Medical Centre, Ground floor, Emergency Department, Denmark Wing
  • Annie Zunz Ward: First floor, Cheyne Wing
  • Guthrie Ward First floor, Guthrie Wing

Contact Details

Patient information leaflets

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Ambulatory Care Unit127 KB

Conditions we treat

We treat acutely unwell medical patients who require a short stay in the hospital. We also treat patients in an ambulatory (outpatient) setting where possible.

GPs should use the Consultant Connect phone line to discuss and refer patients who have a medical illness or diagnosis and who require early review, but not necessarily inpatient admission. They may be seen at our Ambulatory Care Unit (ACU), which provides a consultant-led outpatient service for this group of patients. The aim is to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions while providing excellent and timely patient care.

Some of the diseases we treat include, but not limited to: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease exacerbation, suspected pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, heart failure, diabetes, hypertension, atrial fibrillation (new onset or old), alcoholic liver disease, gastritis, ascites, UTI/Pyelonephritis, and cellulitis.

Booking a patient at King’s

Routine Referrals

We do not take routine referrals, however, GPs can call the Consultant Connect phone line to discuss rapid outpatient review, and for clinical advice or admission avoidance for acutely unwell patients. See the Acute Medicine GP referral pathway for more information.

Emergency Referrals

GPs: Call the Consultant Connect phone line to discuss rapid outpatient review, and for clinical advice or admission avoidance for acutely unwell patients. See the Acute Medicine GP referral pathway for more information.

For referrals to the ACU from King’s: call 37221 to discuss with the ACU consultant.

Key Clinical Staff

Name Role
Dr Andres Acosta Consultant Physician
Ms Denise Andrews Lead Nurse, Acute Medicine and Frailty
Mrs Mariama Bah Senior Sister, Annie Zunz Ward
Dr Moya Borja Consultant Physician
Mrs Gail Burgess Senior Sister, Guthrie Ward
Dr Daniel Cooper Consultant Physician
Mr Enzo Dela Cruz Advanced Clinical Practitioner
Dr Amadea Heitmann Consultant Physician in Acute and Respiratory Medicine
Mrs Sarah Hull Matron, Guthrie Ward
Dr Philip Kelly Consultant Endocrinologist, Acute and General Physician
Dr Asma Khan Consultant Physician
Miss Zoi Mizeraki Advanced Clinical Practitioner
Dr Padmini Sastry Consultant Physician
Dr Akash Saxena Consultant Physician
Dr Radha Selvaratnam Consultant Physician
Dr Daniela Sergi Consultant Physician
Dr Vivek Sharma Consultant Physician and Clinical Lead
Dr Robin Sherchan Consultant in Acute Medicine
Mrs Alice Tackney Senior Sister, Acute Medicine and Frailty
Dr Karwai Tsang Consultant Physician