New consultant in casualty

22 November 1999

The casualty department at the West Suffolk Hospital has received a major boost with the appointment of a second Consultant in Accident and Emergency and the creation of two new staff grade doctor posts.

Mr Alain Sauvage, 38, who came to the hospital at the beginning of October, is no stranger to the West Suffolk having spent time in the department as a locum consultant earlier in the year. The friendly atmosphere of the hospital, attractive countryside and quality of life were key in attracting him back to the area.

His appointment, alongside Mr Michael Sach, has meant the department can offer 24 hour, on call accident and emergency consultant cover, throughout the year. In addition a consultant is now available during the working week to provide immediate support and advice to the five junior doctors.

The result has been an improvement in the quality of education and supervision of junior doctors which has an impact on the quality of care provided to patients. One of Mr Sauvage's first priorities on taking up his new post has been to work with colleagues to draw up treatment guidelines and protocols for junior doctors.

"The Trust places a great deal of importance on providing an environment which supports the training and development of its staff. I believe it improves morale in the department and raises the quality of care patients receive," said Mr Sauvage.

Mr Sauvage has a special interest in pre-hospital emergency care and resuscitation. He is an active member of MAGPAS, the GP accident rescue service who together with NARS and SARS cover much of East Anglia. He has experience with hospital based flying squads, motor racing events and helicopter and retrieval rescue teams.

Training and experience in retrieval medicine was gained during six months service from January 1998 with the Sydney Aeromedical Retrieval Service. During this time Mr Sauvage was involved in the transfer of critically ill patients by: road ambulance, fixed wing aircraft and helicopter, or rescue at the scene of an incident by helicopter.

It is hoped the first staff grade doctor will be appointed in January. The second will be appointed in April next year. These doctors, who have completed their training and have experience of working in accident and emergency departments, will work alongside the junior doctors to help improve quality of care and reduce the time patients have to wait for treatment.

Earlier this year the trust was successful in bidding for money from the Government's modernisation fund to carry out a major upgrading of the Accident & Emergency Department. The £600,000 will allow the trust to provide a special waiting area and treatment room for children, increase the adult waiting area and number of treatment rooms, double the area available for resuscitation and improve the security and surveillance arrangements.

Work on the department, which receives over 32,000 attendances a year, will start on 14 February and be completed by 1 June 2000.