About the Department

Services provided by the department

The Rapid Access Centre (RAC) at Ashford Hospital is a service providing a holistic geriatrician assessment, diagnostics and treatment plan, primarily for older people in the local community.

Providing a one-stop assessment with access to diagnostics model is a key priority for the NHS by improving patient flow, avoiding inappropriate admission to secondary care and integrating primary, community and social services.

The main function of the centre is to proactively diagnose and treat patients deemed to be at risk of requiring emergency admission to A&E.

The RAC will

Provide specialist assessment of older people within 72 hours of a possible deterioration of a medical problem, to prevent admission into acute hospital.
Prevent/reduce multiple visits to hospital by providing a one stop medical, diagnostic workup and multidisciplinary assessment.
Reduce bottlenecks by freeing up urgent slots in outpatients clinics.
Improve patient satisfaction by keeping older people services local.
Enable older people to maximise their independence and prevent premature entry into long-term care.