Emergency Triage Room

Outline

1. Abstract
2. Introduction

• Purpose of the analysis

1. Conceptual analysis
2. An emergency department
3. Quality and safety in emergency department

• Staffing the department
• Nursing roles

1. Capacity building, training, development and research
2. Conclusion
3. References

 

Abstract

It is indeed dehumanizing to redirect patients to untrained personnel when they are admitted to emergency departments. Some healthcare institutions have not clearly stipulated procedures for receiving and handling emergency cases. As a result, patients often take quite long in the queues in spite of the life-threatening situations facing them. Unless policy change is instituted at the top management level, the poor inflow of patients at the emergency department will continue to bedevil emergency departments in healthcare institutions.

 

Emergency Triage Room

Introduction

Emergency departments demand thorough policy change to improve the quality of care services to patients. Quality and safety are critical parameters in emergency departments. As it stands now, most emergency departments lack the much-needed efficiency when receiving and treating patients suffering from life-threatening conditions. Some specific standards must be set up and pursued to the latter when considering policy change in emergency departments. Triage refers to the level of urgency that is attached to critical medical conditions such as offering treatment to patients who have been injured in accidents. Hence, triage nurses work in emergency rooms to provide urgent care to sensitive cases. On the other hand, paramedics are personnel trained to advance emergency care services such as First Aid before patients can receive full care. The ED flowchart refers to the procedures that should be followed by the emergency department nurses when handling urgent medical cases.

Purpose of the analysis

The paper aims to discuss how a triage system can be implemented in a hospital Emergency Department. According to O’Regan and Ryan (2009), it may be possible that patients are often left under the care of untrained hospital staff such as clerical officers due to the overwhelming workload at the emergency department. The challenges being experienced by the workforce at the place of work may also be another reason for the unsatisfactory delivery of care services at the emergency department (O’Regan & Ryan, 2009). Besides, an emergency department may encounter hardships in managing the flow of patients.

Conceptual analysis

The National Primary Care Policy has been conceived as a viable strategy for responding towards most health needs on a regional basis in a continuous and systematic manner (Chang, Harnod & Shih, 2010). The latter integrates preventive and curative actions and offers attention to individuals and the community needs when it comes to emergency care in healthcare institutions. However, the effort of increasing basic health interventions have not been enough in solving a high number of health problems in primary care level and especially in emergency departments. Thus, most hospital systems continue to receive several specialist consultations, diagnostic tests, expensive admissions and nursing procedures even though both human and monetary resources are not adequate (North, 2004).

The disarticulation of the different levels of care in the health systems confirms the empirical knowledge of reality, historically portrayed by the overvaluation of the healing and hospital-centered approach.

Harding, Taylor and Leggat (2011) argue that the above seems to justify the inadequacy of demand for hospital care. It may also result into overcrowding of emergency services and lowering the quality of care provided to those who really need emergency services (Rodgers, 2000). Eventually, poor service delivery at the emergency department compromises the much-needed comprehensive care for patients who are at risk of losing their lives. Urgent or emergency services usually aim to reduce morbidity and mortality and to disable patients. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure essential elements are availed at all times for an emergency care system considering human resources, infrastructure, equipment and materials so as to provide comprehensive care, with adequate and continuous quality (Harding, Taylor & Leggat, 2011).

The increase in cases of accidents and violence has a high impact on society and the Unified Health System. In healthcare practice, this effect can be measured directly by the increase in expenses for hospitalization, care in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the high rate of hospitalization of affected persons.

Emergency departments

In regards to urgency, the growing numbers of accidents, urban violence, and the insufficient structure of the health service network have contributed significantly towards emergency cases (Chang, Harnod & Shih, 2010). The knowledge of this reality is pertinent in order to highlight the need to restructure the current health care system using the consolidation perspective of the existing healthcare models.

Capacity building, training, development and research

Emergency care services and emergency department are vital components of health care. Therefore, the growing demand for services in this area and the insufficient structure of the health care network should be addressed through a rigorous policy change.  For instance, each hospital unit or setting should set up an independent organ that oversees technical regulation of state systems in emergency care (Morphet et al., 2014). The agency should set standards and the operating criteria for pre-hospital, mobile pre-hospital, hospital, and transportation inter-hospital care. Setting up Education Centers in spots prone to emergencies should be considered. In addition, curricula for training human resource in this area are required. There is no policy change that can be realized without embracing capacity building and training.

Quality and safety

There is also need for a National Policy for Emergency that can ensure proper organization of regionalized healthcare systems. Universality, fairness and integrity in meeting the medical emergencies are also necessary. Surgical, obstetric, gynecological, psychiatric, and pediatric care services should also be included in this policy.

The need to reorder patients in terms of their flows in healthcare settings should be in tandem with integrating hospital emergency services and other levels of care. Cases in point include medical regulation of emergencies or other central regulators of complex care and establishing general and specific duties of the Medical Regulation Centers on emergency. Besides, it is necessary to adopt technical design for the sake of structuring and operating healthcare facilities that are operated by the local, state and national governments.

Saghafian et al. (2014) are of the opinion that it is not possible to organize tertiary hospital emergency rooms without reducing the large number of people with minor emergencies. On the other hand, for people with emergency situations that require less technological attention, they can be attended to in primary health care systems.

Nursing Roles

It should be noted that while the demand for attention in hospital emergency care services is growing, there are still incipient specific nursing studies on the organization of these services. The latter is an important nursing action area since it can articulate effective health delivery and management actions related to the wellbeing of patients during emergencies. In hospital settings where urgent and emergency services are delivered to patients, the roles of nurses may either be individual or attached within workgroups or teams.  However, care management of patients with complex needs that require scientific and technological management should be given priority at all times.

Novel queuing theoretical model

A theory-based model known as novel queuing can be used to set up the desired Emergency Department in healthcare institutions. Through the proposals pointed out below, the impact of patient arrivals in Emergency Departments can be predicted easily. In case there are any weaknesses, this theory can be used to detect flaws in the system. Other entities that can be used to predict this theory include ED boarding in a healthcare institution and the treatment time. This model can be used to predict and apply the following proposals:

• Although the primary care setting has witnessed major transformations in the delivery of emergency care, there is sharp increasing number of persons seeking such care services.
• Consultant presence has become a necessity in most healthcare settings owing to unbounded workload. In fact, some emergency cases can be referred to less congested care facilities to reduce workload at the critical care department. The latter does not exclude the fact that experienced nurses and doctors are still required to handle emergencies within the shortest time possible.
• Every emergency department should be well equipped and made ready at all times to handle or manage risks (Saghafian et al., 2014). Risk management can be assisted by the triage process. Nonetheless, the triage procedure is frequently done away with when human resource level goes down.

Staffing and emergency department

Active emergency departments require adequate and appropriate staffing. Hence, there is need to train continually and equip nurses and doctors (Rodgers, 2000). However, most healthcare institutions are still struggling with recruitment, selection and retention of experienced and knowledgeable medical staff.

Conclusion

It is crucial to mention that designated nursing bases ought to be set up in emergency departments. The effective functioning of an emergency department depends on available nurses who should be on duty at different times. For an Emergency Triage System to be effective in meeting high inflow of patients there is a need for remarkable nursing management in all healthcare establishments.