PATIENTS brought into the Royal Gwent's £1 million Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) will feel as though they are in a new hospital.

That's the verdict of Assembly Health and Social Services Minister Jane Hutt, who said such facilities are the only way of sustaining the NHS.

Comprising 11 trolley bays - two with cardiac monitoring facilities - 45 observation beds and examination rooms, the unit opens on Saturday and will run all day, every day.

It represents a major change in the way people entering hospital have their health assessed - and may prevent them having to be admitted.

Currently, many patients are admitted into a bed before a full assessment of their condition can be made, but often they may not need to stay in hospital.

The unit will be staffed by specialist health professionals including acute physicians, advanced nurse practitioners, an anti-coagulant nurse, and support staff. They are experts in speedy assessment of a patient's condition.

The aim is to ensure diagnosis and stabilisation is carried out first.

Patients will then either be transferred within the hospital, to a ward specialising in their condition, or discharged home with a treatment plan - agreed with their GP - that may include care through an outpatient appointment.

Such units elsewhere have proved successful in reducing admissions and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of ongoing treatment while a patient is in hospital.

"Wales is a trailblazer in the development of acute medicine, and of units like this and the one at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital (in Llantrisant)," said Ms Hutt.

"The only way we can sustain the NHS is through such initiatives. The Wanless Report (on health and social care in Wales) stressed the need to provide alternatives to admission. It is a big challenge but one this unit is well equipped to meet."

The Royal Gwent deals with 40-50 emergency admissions daily, some 10 per cent of such cases in Wales. Under the previous admissions system bottlenecks were frequent, especially at times of high demand, with long waits in accident and emergency, long trolley waits, and cancellation of routine surgery among the regular consequences.