Irish medical journal
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There are as yet few well developed systems for comparing the quality of care in Irish hospitals with other hospitals either nationally or internationally. The best known are the perinatal mortality rates of the Dublin maternity hospitals. ⋯ The method of stratifying for severity of illness is by use of the APACHE II scoring system. In 2003 the standardised mortality ratio for Beaumont Hospital ICU was 0.87 with a mean APACHE II admission score of 17.5 which compares favourably with similar data produced from UK units.
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Irish medical journal · Apr 2005
Accuracy of admitting diagnosis in acute surgical patients by non consultant hospital doctors.
The incidence of accurate diagnosis made by non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs) is unknown in acute surgical admissions. There is a common assumption that reliance is made on excessive and inappropriate investigations. The aim of study was to assess the accuracy of admitting diagnosis by the NCHDs and the appropriateness of radiological investigations ordered. ⋯ We conclude that 79% of diagnoses made by NCHDs are the accurate final diagnoses. The utilization of diagnostic modalities especially radiological imaging is highly appropriate. Our study suggests that the physical presence of a consultant on site may not lead to significant improvement to the delivery of health care to the Irish population.
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Irish medical journal · Feb 2005
Multicenter StudyChanges in trauma service workload since the introduction of the penalty points system.
With the introduction of the penalty points system (PPS) has come many media reports indicating a reduction in road traffic accident (RTA) rates. We hypothesised that reduced RTAs would result in a reduction in hospital trauma workloads. ⋯ Whilst a slight reduction in RTA related femoral shaft fracture numbers was observed a dramatic reduction in total RTA related discharges from Beaumont hospital was identified with 70 patients discharged in the first six months since the introduction of the PPS compared to 124 and 125 discharges in the same two preceding six month periods. This reduction was greatest for head and thoracic injuries which were halved, while total numbers of limb injuries were maintained, resulting in no reduction in orthopaedic RTA related discharges or workload.