Last month, emergency nurse practitioners normally based in the Minor Injuries Unit at Queen Mary’s Hospital re-located to St George’s.

The team from Queen Mary’s are now staffing the minors area of the Emergency Department at St George’s. As a result of Covid-19, and to keep patients safe, the chest clinic at St George’s has been repurposed to treat patients presenting with minor injuries – which includes everything from cuts to falls.

All patients presenting to the Emergency Department at St George’s are now met at the door by a member of our nursing team, and re-directed accordingly, so helping to reduce the risk of Covid infection for our patients needing urgent and emergency care.

The team of emergency nurse practitioners from Queen Mary’s includes Ann Broughton, Matron, plus ENPs Louise Mortiboys, Suzie Clucas, Charity Hanbeukers, and Debbie Hinde, who this year celebrates 40 years as a nurse.

“We are all really enjoying it, even though it all happened really quickly” says Louise, who is helping to treat the 20-30 patients a day they are seeing in ED minors. “We want more patients to access our services if they need to – but we’ve all been made to feel really welcome, and a part of the St George’s team. It’s also nice to put a name to faces we speak to quite regularly from our normal base over at Queen Mary’s.

The Minor Injuries Unit at Queen Mary’s has been temporarily closed as a result of Covid-19, with patients urged to call NHS 111 for advice, or to call 999 or visit the Emergency Department at St George’s if they need urgent care and treatment.

Ann said: “We are really proud of the service we provide for patients at Queen Mary’s. In my role, I work across both sites, but it really nice for the team to spend some time here in Tooting. We are all sharing skills and experiences – so it’s exciting, and the teamwork is so great. Covid-19 is challenging everyone, and as difficult as the current situation is, we all feel proud to be part of the response.”

Tori Cooper, Head of Nursing for the Emergency Department at St George’s, said: “We are so lucky to have had the team join us from Queen Mary’s. They are such a skilled, experienced group, and it has enabled us all to learn new skills and ways of working.”