Development of an enhanced acute care surgery service in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic

BACKGROUND: As the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps across the world, healthcare departments must adapt to meet the challenges of service provision and staff/patient protection. Unlike elective surgery, acute care surgery (ACS) workloads cannot be artificially reduced providing a unique challenge for administrators to balance healthcare resources between the COVID-19 surge and regular patient admissions. METHODS: An enhanced ACS (eACS) model of care is described with the aim of limiting COVID-19 healthcare worker and patient cross-infection as well as providing 24/7 management of emergency general surgical (GS) and trauma patients. The eACS service comprised 5 independent teams covering a rolling 1:5 24-hr call. Attempts to completely separate eACS teams and patients from the elective side were made. The service was compared to the existing ACS service in terms of clinical and efficiency outcomes. Finally, a survey of staff attitudes towards these changes, concerns regarding COVID-19 and psychological well-being was assessed. RESULTS: There were no staff/patient COVID-19 cross-infections. Compared to the ACS service, eACS patients had reduced overall length of stay (2-days), time spent in the Emergency Room (46 min) and time from surgery to discharge (2.4-hours). The eACS model of care saved financial resources and bed-days for the organisation. The changes were well received by team-members who also felt that their safety was prioritised. CONCLUSION: In healthcare systems not overwhelmed by COVID-19, an eACS model may assist in preserving psychological well-being for healthcare staff whilst providing 24/7 care for emergency GS and trauma patients.