Welcome to the Emergency Unit
The Emergency Unit is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. It is located on the lower ground floor of the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, CF14 4XW, Tel: 029 2074 8047/8025.
Who Should Attend?
The Emergency Unit provides for the resuscitation, assessment and treatment of acute illness and injury in patients of all ages. "Acute" means that the illness or injury has occurred usually within the last two days, or that there has been a sudden or serious deterioration in someone's condition. The sorts of conditions that the Emergency Unit considers to be included in its core service are:
- Injury
- Pain, unrelieved by simple analgesia (pain relieving medicine)
- Acute illness
- Respiratory distress (breathing difficulties)
- Change in mental status, including alteration of consciousness and acute confusional states.
The Emergency Unit is not intended to provide care usually delivered in General Practice. Patients outside the broad core service definitions should initially seek help from their GP. In particular, the Emergency Unit does not expect to provide assessment of non-acute problems or to offer routine second opinions.
Patients who choose to attend the Emergency Unit with such conditions will be redirected to the most appropriate source of health care.
What Happens in the Emergency Unit?
Reception
You will be registered on arrival at the Unit. This will include details such as your name, age and address. Soon after arrival, a nurse will triage you into categories determining the urgency with which you need to be assessed and treated. You will then be directed into the area most appropriate to you or your condition: children are seen within a dedicated children's area; adults with minor injuries or illness wait in the main waiting area; those too unwell or unable to wait there will be seen on a trolley; the more seriously ill will be seen in our High Dependency Unit or the Resuscitation Room.
Assessment
Assessment may be carried out by a doctor, nurse practitioner, physiotherapist or pharmacist. Sometimes you may be asked if you would agree to be seen by a medical student. It will not affect your treatment if you say no.
Patient assessment may involve physical examination and investigations including blood tests, ECGs and X-rays. The aim is to establish a diagnosis and decide on the best treatment for you.
Treatment
If you are discharged from the Unit, you may be prescribed treatment or otherwise advised on the management of your condition. You may also be asked to return to the Unit or to another clinic for further review, or to visit your GP. Occasionally we need to recall patients by phone if a review of their notes or X-rays indicates that further treatment might be needed.
If you need hospital admission, you will ideally have your treatment initiated while you arein the Emergency Unit, and transferred as soon as possible to an in-patient bed.
How Can I Get Advice About My Condition?
If you would just like advice about a health problem you should not ring the Emergency Unit. You may be able to speak to their GP, or ring NHS Direct on 0845 4647. You may also like to refer to the Public Information leaflet on Emergency Medical Care in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan: Getting Help When You Need It. You can also find out more about 
changes to the opening hours of the Barry Minor Injuries Unit.
changes to the opening hours of the Barry Minor Injuries Unit. Other Information
If you are responsible for small children, or particularly babies, it would minimise distress to the child and disruption to the department if you could arrange for someone else to look after them at home while you attend the Emergency Unit (whether as a patient yourself or accompanying a friend or relative).
Please note that the Emergency Unit has a zero tolerance policy on violence and aggressive behaviour.
