DOZENS of patients will have to be transferred to or from the new Grange University Hospital every day when it opens, possibly as early as November this year - and a new transport service is being developed for the task.

The inter-site system will ensure that patients who turn up at the Royal Gwent and Nevill Hall Hospitals or Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr with serious illnesses or injuries that should be treated at the Grange - or whose conditions worsen - can be quickly and safely transferred to the latter.

And it will also be used to ‘step down’ patients from the Grange to the aforementioned or to community hospitals when they are well enough recovered to be transferred but not yet fit to go home.

The Grange will treat Gwent’s sickest patients and patient transfer arrangements between it and other hospitals will be in addition to existing ambulance services in the area.

It is estimated that in the transitionary period of a year after the Grange opens, around 30 sick patient transfers a day in total will be made to the Grange (25 adults and five children) from what will have become minor injury units at the Royal Gwent and Nevill Hall.

The daily ‘step down’ total is estimated at 39 patients, including overnight admissions to the Grange - when medical admissions will not happen at the other hospitals - as well as those deemed well enough to continue their recovery away from the Grange.

After the transition period, as people get used to the new system and doctors are more familiar with demand for such transfers, it is estimated there will be 10-15 daily ‘step ups’ and 28-36 daily ‘step downs’.

A team of transfer practitioners will be recruited to accompany a number of the patients where it is deemed that support is needed beyond that which can provided by paramedics. These staff will also work, based on their core skills, in emergency departments and critical care.

The service will cost an estimated £4.7m a year to run, with a further £600,000 first year set-up costs and some £2.3m for ambulances.

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust continue to discuss the details of the plan.