Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability in young adults. Reorganisation of trauma services with direct triage of suspected head injury patients to trauma centres may improve outcomes following TBI. This study aimed to determine the sensitivity of principal English triage tools for identifying significant TBI. ⋯ A considerable proportion of significant head injury patients may not be triaged directly to trauma centres. Investment is therefore necessary to improve the accuracy of existing triage rules and maintain expertise in TBI diagnosis and management in non-specialist emergency departments.
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All emergency departments (EDs) have an obligation to deliver care that is demonstrably safe and of the highest possible quality. Emergency medicine is a unique and rapidly developing specialty, which forms the hub of the emergency care system and strives to provide a consistent and effective service 24 h a day, 7 days a week. ⋯ These are tabulated in the form of measures designed to answer nine quality questions presented according to the domains of structure, process and outcome. There is an urgent need to improve the evidence base to determine which quality indicators have the potential to successfully improve clinical outcomes, staff and patient experience in a cost-efficient manner--with lessons for implementation.
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Emergency departments are high-risk structures. The objective was to analyse the functioning of an experience feedback committee (EFC), a security management tool for the analysis of incidents in a medical department. ⋯ The staff took part actively in the EFC. Following the analysis of incidents, the EFC was able to set up actions at the departmental level. Thus, an EFC seems to be an appropriate security management tool for an emergency department.