What We Can't Help With?

Non-medical Speciality Teams
It's important for all staff working in healthcare to know their strengths and their weaknesses. As physicians trained in the medical specialities we have a limited knowledge of the ins and outs of surgery and acute surgical problems. These are situations which require the expertise and experience of the highly trained surgical teams to not only investigate and treat, but to also know when an urgent operation is required. We would never want to put any patient at risk of harm as a result of our ignorance and for this reason our sibling unit - the Acute Surgical Receiving Unit (ASRU) - is there to be sure you're being looked after by the best people for your needs. Similarly, we can't fix broken bones and rely on the skills of the orthopaedic team for many musculoskeletal and joint related problems.

Women and Children's Health
The human body's development and changes through childhood and during pregnancy require very different training and experience to our own in the AMU and NHS Tayside has an excellent Paediatric department and Obstetrics & Gynaecology team to manage this for you.

Traumatic injury and need for immediate life-saving treatment
The Emergency Department team are highly skilled in provided immediate care when your life is imminently threatened. If your illness is so severe that you are risk of death if not treated in less than 30 minutes your care will always be given in the Emergency Department to begin with. The other teams in Ninewells welcome patients directly to their wards from the community precisely to ensure that the Emergency Department is never overcrowded and that they can administer life-saving treatment without delay. In fact, the Ninewells teams are so good at doing this our work is held up as a model of excellent practice and care in NHS Scotland.