A NEW-look accident and emergency department at the Royal Gwent Hospital is helping staff improve waiting times for patients and deliver improved quality of care.

A more open design means patients can be observed from a central command desk, while cubicles have been created to improve privacy and dignity for people while they are being treated.

But while £800,000 has been spent on improving the physical A&E environment, changes in what goes on there in terms of looking after patients is just as important.

"One of the big changes is in having more nursing contact with the patients at the bedside, so the patient and their relatives are there when their journey through the hospital system is planned, so they can ask questions there and then," said senior nurse Bev Cadman.

"We are also trying to ensure contact with all patients at least half-hourly, to try to avoid patients feeling ignored once they have been stabilised.

"The key to all of this is quality of care, and we have also improved the documentation systems that follow patients through their hospital journey, so each department knows exactly what has gone on whilst they have been with us."

The new layout also includes electronic wallboards in several areas of A&E, to help staff monitor ambulance handovers, for which there is a 15-minute target.

For a long time, the Royal Gwent has struggled to help improve ambulance handover times, and also to meet the 95 per cent target for dealing with patients inside four hours.

The true test for what is Wales' busiest A&E department will come through the winter, but performance against the four-hour target during August and much of September has been much improved.