Internal Medicine & Emergency Department, Svendborg

Internal Medicine & Emergency Department, Svendborg

The department is divided into an Emergency Department and Department of Internal Medicine. The Department of Internal Medicine consists of nine separate units with daily clinical activity in both Svendborg and Nyborg. 

The department receives unselected acute patients from its catchment area, as well as patients referred by general practitioners on the island of Funen and the surrounding smaller islands (approximately 170,000 inhabitants).

Emergency Department

All emergency patients at Odense University Hospital (OUH) in Svendborg are received in the Emergency Department. The department has a capacity of 20 observation/treatment beds and manages approximately 33,600 patient contacts per year, of which 30% are subsequently treated in the Department of Internal Medicine.

Department of Internal Medicine

The Department of Internal Medicine encompasses following subspecialties: cardiology, endocrinology, rheumatology, gastroenterology, pulmonology and infectious diseases. 

In Svendborg, the department consists of:

• A medical day unit (day hospital) for patients requiring same-day assessment and treatment
• A Diagnostic Center for acutely referred patients with conditions requiring rapid assessment but not hospitalization
• A general medicine ward with 21 inpatient beds and 4 palliative beds
• A cardiology/pulmonology ward with 30 inpatient beds
• Outpatient clinics in the following subspecialities: cardiology, pulmonology, endocrinology, rheumatology and gastroenterology

In Nyborg, the department runs a medical day unit (day hospital) for patients requiring same-day assessment and treatment, as well as outpatient clinics within the same medical subspecialities as in Svendborg.

The department manages approximately 77,000 outpatient visits and 6,400 inpatient admissions per year.

Staff, education and collaboration

The Internal Medicine & Emergency Department employs approximately 400 staff members and utilizes a comprehensive electronic medical record system covering all aspects of patient documentation. 

The department collaborates closely with other departments at OUH, as well as the hospital unit on the island of Aeroe. It is actively involved in teaching and training various professional groups, including medical students, biomedical laboratory science students, nurses, and medical secretaries. 

The department provides clinical training for medical students in affiliation with the University of Southern Denmark and is fully accredited by the Danish national quality assurance organization.

The Internal Medicine & Emergency Department comprises several research units under the leadership of the Head of Research. Research activities span the Diagnostic Center, endocrinology, the Emergency Department, gastroenterology, cardiology, pulmonology, rheumatology, and clinical nursing.

The department conducts research at high national and international level, currently including several PhD projects. The department has been at the forefront of telemedicine and has continuously developed and implemented new solutions.

Research within cardiology is mainly focused on cardiac CT and echocardiography with particular emphasis on ischemic heart disease in patients with diabetes and prediabetes. Additional research areas include cardiac arrhythmias, especially atrial fibrillation. In rheumatology, PhD work has focused on spondyloarthropathies.

The department actively encourages and supports nurse-led research.