1,721,376 research outputs found
How far is too far? Exploring the perceptions of the professions on their current and future roles in emergency care
No full textBackground and aims: How far is too far? Recent government policy and demographic growth have led to role changes within the professions in emergency care. Healthcare professionals have extended and expanded their scopes of practice to include duties outside their traditional role boundary. Nurses in particular are able to see and treat patients more independently. These expanded roles mean there is growing overlap between professional roles and responsibilities and one wonders—how far is too far? Where should role expansion cease? The aim of this research was to explore the perceptions of the professions on their current and future roles in emergency care. Methods: A qualitative design, utilising semistructured interviews was employed. Eight respondents, including doctors and nurses of all grades, were purposefully sampled from an emergency department within a large UK teaching hospital. Results: Content analysis revealed five key themes: role boundaries; driving forces; managing risk; training and future professional roles. Conclusions: Of genuine concern to the respondents was the lack of standardisation within the expansion of healthcare roles. In terms of "how far is too far", the respondents believed that greater clarification of training and scope of practice is required, enabling clinical roles to develop more consistently. <br/
Physiological observations of patients admitted from A&E
No full textBackground: A&E department records were collected over a four-week period for all patients admitted to hospital via A&E. Timing and values of recorded observations were collected, as was the length of time spent in the department.During the study period, 739 patients were admitted. Observation charts were available for 728. Those having some observations within 15 minutes of arrival totalled 640 (88 per cent); 378 (52 per cent) had temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure recorded; and 265 (36 per cent) had repeat observations while waiting for admission. The mean time in the department was three hours 43 minutes.Conclusion: Recorded patient observations are carried out in an inconsistent pattern in this A&E department and standards should be set. Patients at risk of deterioration must be identified early. Complete observations should be carried out so that patients with abnormal physiology can be prioritised for treatment and repeated observation can be instituted to monitor response to interventions.Further work is needed to determine variables that provide the best prediction of outcome and whether increasing observation frequency and earlier activation improves outcome
A study to establish the subsequent use of health care and degree of disability of patients suffering whiplash associated disorder. (WAD) who attend the emergency department
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