Articles: emergency-services.
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An NHS England review recognised that demand for Urgent and Emergency Care is unsustainable. Health practitioners and policy makers are interested in understanding the reasons why patients with low acuity problems attend the Emergency Department (ED). This should, in turn, assist the development of interventions to reduce demand.We aimed to gain an understanding about the reasons for rising ED demand and to identify possible solutions. ⋯ We found evidence of a rise in patients being referred to the ED by other healthcare services. This may be a reflection of the wider healthcare system under strain, thereby causing overspill into EDs. Future research is needed to design and test interventions that can lead to improvements in the system that are acceptable to patients, do not lead to increased demand, are cost-effective and lead to more sustainable working environments.
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A variety of interventions have been proposed to manage rising demand for Emergency and Urgent Care, described by an NHS England review as unsustainable in the long term. However it is unlikely that any suggested approach will be equally suitable for the diverse population of ED users.We aimed to understand the patterns of demand amongst different types of patients attending ED. We also sought to understand the intended and unintended effects of demand management initiatives. Our study combined insights from routine data, a survey of ED patients, and qualitative interviews with ED staff. This paper describes the results of our analysis of the interviews. ⋯ ED staff attribute distinctly different patterns of ED attendance to patients of different age groups, including reasons for attending ED, the route to the ED, and the rate of non-urgent attendance. Given this variation, proposed demand management interventions are likely to impact differently on different age groups, and one solution is unlikely to be optimal for all ages. Therefore a number of different approaches will be needed to manage ED demand among different age groups.
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Heart, lung & circulation · Dec 2017
Comparative Study Observational StudyDifferences in Presentation, Management and Outcomes in Women and Men Presenting to an Emergency Department With Possible Cardiac Chest Pain.
Research suggests that female patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) experience delays in emergency department (ED) management and are less likely to receive guideline-based treatments and referrals for follow-up testing. Women are often found to have poorer clinical outcomes in comparison to men. This study aimed to assess current sex differences in the presentation, management and outcomes of patients with undifferentiated chest pain presenting to a tertiary ED. ⋯ Minimal sex differences were observed in the contemporary emergency management of patients presenting with suspected ACS. Thirty-day outcomes were similarly low in men and women despite lower rates of coronary angiography and revascularisation in women. Further research is required to replicate these results in different hospital systems and cultural settings.
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: The Paediatric Emergency Unit at the University Hospital of Wales provides care for over 33 000 children per year. There was no provision in place to support suddenly bereaved families. Staff felt that we could improve the services provided to families who's children sadly died in the unit. ⋯ Due to the success of this pathway it has been extended to include young adults up to the age of 25 years. The model has also been rolled out across critical care in UHW and is now being used in all emergency department in Wales. This innovative partnership offers immediate support to bereaved families across Wales which has improved care and services provided by the University Health Board.
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Pediatric emergency care · Dec 2017
Predictors of Emergency Department Utilization Among Children in Vulnerable Families.
Preventable visits to the emergency department (ED) are estimated to represent as much as 56% of overall annual ED utilization and contribute to the high cost of health care in the United States. There are more than 25 million annual pediatric ED visits.