East Tallinn Central Hospital opens remodelled Centre of Emergency Medicine

On 13 June, the remodelled Centre of Emergency Medicine at East Tallinn Central Hospital, which sees an average of 50,000 visits per year, was opened. The Centre of Radiology, which plays an important role in providing fast and comfortable services to patients coming to the hospital with traumatic injuries, has also been renovated.

Tarmo Bakler, Head of the ETCH board, says he is glad that this hospital, with its dignified history, has developed a modern centre that can offer better services to patients. “Emergency medicine is an important service to provide and the renovation and expansion of the centre is an important step in improving access to medical care in Northern Estonia.”

“Compared to before, the new Centre of Emergency Medicine is larger and allows us to accept more patients, which is the first step to reducing wait times,” says Head of the Centre of Emergency Medicine Dr Külvar Mand. “The functionality of the rooms has also been organised better after the renovations, meaning that our work processes will also be faster – we can offer clients, including those with eye trauma, fast diagnosis and help, and the whole work process is well thought out.” The hospital’s capacity for dealing with emergency situations has improved noticeably.

There are 19 beds in the new Centre of Emergency Medicine, of which 14 are for code yellow patients, three for critical patients, two isolators for patients with infections or other dangerous conditions (e.g. chemical poisoning) and two for carrying out procedures. As a result of the renovation and expansion, the centre received five new beds, which will help with managing the centre’s previous problems regarding lack of space significantly.

“Our priority is patients in critical or serious condition, who we are ready to accept and offer fast medical aid to,” says Dr Külvar Mand. “We work 24/7 and the patient wait times are always a big issue in emergency medicine that we need to manage.”

A special ambulance station has been built in the new centre that can fit 4-6 vehicles, which can wait in the station all year round. The station is especially important in the winter and with rain, as it means patients won’t have to be transported in outdoor conditions.

Along with the Centre of Emergency Medicine, the Centre of Radiology received newly renovated rooms that house the CT, X-ray and ultrasound scanners often needed for diagnosing emergency patients.

Director of the Diagnostic Clinic, Aleksandr Šamarin, says they are all very happy about the new rooms. “We use diagnostic tools 24/7 and very intensively, so it has been clear to us that they needed to be changed. The new tools are modern and allow us to offer our clients the best opportunities for diagnosis. The improvement of our working conditions is also important.”

The cost of renovating the Centre of Emergency Medicine and Centre of Radiology at ETCH was nearly 6.5 million euros, with an additional 3 million euros spent on new medical equipment. A total area of 3000 m² underwent renovations. The main contractor for construction and renovation works was Ehitus5ECO OÜ, owner supervision was performed by Sweco EST OÜ and the project was designed by Infragate Eesti AS. The ETCH Centre of Emergency Medicine is located at 18 Ravi St, Tallinn.