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 – Christine Brown Acute Medical Unit or Frank Stansil Acute Assessment Unit.
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): First floor, Golden Jubilee Wing (located within the Integrated Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) and Discharge Unit)
- Christine Brown Acute Medical Unit, Second floor, Golden Jubilee Wing
- Frank Stansil Acute Assessment Unit, Second floor, Golden Jubilee Wing
Contact details
- Ambulatory Care Unit: 020 3299 6261
- Christine Brown Acute Medical Unit: 020 3299 8435 or 020 3299 8434
- Frank Stansil Acute Assessment Unit: 020 3299 8244 or 020 3299 8964
Patient information leaflets
| Title | File Size | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Ambulatory Care Unit | 36 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. This means that patients are assessed, diagnosed, treated and can go home the same day, without being admitted into hospital overnight. The aim is to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions while providing excellent and timely patient care.
Some of the diseases we treat include, but are not limited to:
- anaemia
- cellulitis
- chest pain (not ongoing cardiac chest pain representing unstable angina or acute myocardial infarction (AMI))
- congestive heart failure
- COPD exacerbation
- DVT (after 5pm weekdays or weekends or bank holidays) – between 9am and 5pm on weekdays, call directly on 07623 901822, and state code ‘DVT 1’
- fever or pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO)
- headache
- hypertension
- palpitation
- pneumonia
- pulmonary embolism
- pyelonephritis
- shortness of breath
- syncope
- uncontrolled diabetes
What can you and your patient expect from this service?
- Prompt clinical review without your patient waiting in the Emergency Department.
- Acute medical consultant review of all patients.
- Investigations as appropriate. Follow-up appointment in the Ambulatory Care Unit (ACU), if clinically required.
- Direct admission to the Acute Medical Unit, if clinically indicated.
- Phone advice or discussion – if you just want to talk about a patient.
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.
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.
For referrals to the ACU from King’s: call 37221 to discuss with the ACU consultant.
What is the referral pathway to Acute Medicine at King’s College Hospital?
- Call Consultant Connect phone 7 days a week, 8am to 8pm (020 3299 6613 – option 2). Last patient is accepted into the ACU at 6pm.
- Talk to Acute Medicine Consultant or Medical Registrar
- Outcomes:
- advice only
- same day review
- review another day
General enquiries
Please email [email protected] (Clinical Lead Acute Medicine)
Key Clinical Staff
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Dr Andres Acosta | Consultant Physician |
| Ms Denise Andrews | Lead Nurse, Acute Medicine and Frailty |
| Mrs Mariama Bah | Senior Sister, Christine Brown and Frank Stansil |
| Dr Moya Borja | Consultant Physician |
| Mrs Gail Burgess | Senior Sister, Christine Brown and Frank Stansil |
| Mr Enzo Dela Cruz | Advanced Clinical Practitioner |
| Dr Amadea Heitmann | Consultant Physician in Acute and Respiratory Medicine |
| Mrs Sarah Hull | Matron, Christine Brown and Frank Stansil |
| 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 |