Emergency department overcrowding, mortality and the 4-hour rule in Western Australia

Medical Journal of Australia

Volumn 196, Issue 2, 2012, Pages 122-126

  Geelhoed, Gary C ^a,b   de Klerk, Nicholas H ^b,c  

^a PRINCESS MARGARET HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN   (Australia)

^b UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA   (Australia)

^c UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA   (Australia)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; AUSTRALIA; CROWDING; EMERGENCY HEALTH SERVICE; EMERGENCY WARD; HEALTH CARE ACCESS; HOSPITAL ADMISSION; HOSPITAL MANAGEMENT; HUMAN; MORTALITY; PRACTICE GUIDELINE; QUASI EXPERIMENTAL STUDY; TERTIARY HEALTH CARE;

CROWDING; EMERGENCY SERVICE, HOSPITAL; HOSPITAL MORTALITY; HOSPITALIZATION; HUMANS; POISSON DISTRIBUTION; QUALITY IMPROVEMENT; STANDARD OF CARE; TIME FACTORS; WESTERN AUSTRALIA;

EID: 84857870689     PISSN: 0025729X     EISSN: 13265377     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.5694/mja11.11159     Document Type: Article

References (23)

1. Australasian College for Emergency Medicine. Policy document-standard terminology. Emerg Med 2002; 14: 337-340.
2. Fatovich DM, Hirsch RL. Entry overload, emergency department overcrowding, and ambulance bypass. Emerg Med J 2003; 20: 406-409.
3. Schneider SM, Gallery ME, Schafermeyer R, Zwemer FL. Emergency department crowding: a point in time. Ann Emerg Med 2003; 42: 167-172.
4. Vilke GM, Brown L, Skogland P, et al. Approach to decreasing emergency department ambulance diversion hours. J Emerg Med 2004; 26: 189-192.
5. Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. The state of our public hospitals. June 2006 report. http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/state-ofpublic-hospitals-report.htm (accessed Jan 2012).
6. Finn JC, Flicker L, Mackenzie E, et al. Interface between residential aged care facilities and a teaching hospital emergency department in Western Australia. Med J Aust 2006; 184: 432-435.
7. Sprivulis P, Grainger S, Nagree Y. Ambulance diversion is not associated with low acuity patients attending Perth metropolitan emergency departments. Emerg Med Australas 2005; 17: 11-15.
8. Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians; National Emergency Nurses Affiliation. Joint Position Statement on emergency department overcrowding. CJEM 2001; 3: 82-84.
9. Schull MJ, Kiss A, Szalai JP. The effect of lowcomplexity patients on emergency department waiting times. Ann Emerg Med 2007; 49: 257-264.
10. Sprivulis P. Estimation of the general practice workload of a metropolitan teaching hospital emergency department. Emerg Med (Fremantle) 2003; 15: 32-37.
11. Vertesi L. Does the Canadian Emergency Department Triage and Acuity Scale identify nonurgent patients who can be triaged away from the emergency department? CJEM 2004; 6: 337-342.
12. Cameron PA, Campbell DA. Responses to access block in Australia: Royal Melbourne Hospital. Med J Aust 2003; 178: 109-110.
13. Fatovich DM. Responses to access block in Australia: Royal Perth Hospital. Med J Aust 2003; 178: 108-109.
14. Hill KN. Responses to access block in Australia: The Alfred Hospital. Med J Aust 2003; 178: 110-111.
15. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Western Australian statistical indicators, 2010. (ABS Cat. No. 1367.5.)
16. Diercks DB, Roe MT, Chen AY, et al. Prolonged emergency department stays of non-STsegment elevation myocardial infarction patients are associated with worse adherence to the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines for management and increased adverse events. Ann Emerg Med 2007; 50: 489-496.
17. Richardson DB. Increase in patient mortality at 10 days associated with emergency department overcrowding. Med J Aust 2006; 184: 213-216.
18. Fatovich DM. Effect of ambulance diversion on patient mortality: how access block can save your life. Med J Aust 2005; 183: 672-673.
19. Liew D, Liew D, Kennedy MP. Emergency department length of stay independently predicts excess inpatient length of stay. Med J Aust 2003; 179: 524-526.
20. Sprivulis PC, Da Silva J-A, Jacobs IG, et al. The association between hospital overcrowding and mortality among patients admitted via Western Australian emergency departments. Med J Aust 2006; 184: 208-212.
21. Maor D, O'Sullivan M, Bonning M, Mitchell R. Fourhour access targets for emergency departments: potential negative implications for the work practices and clinical training of junior doctors. Emerg Med Australas 2011; 23: 782-783.
22. Australasian College for Emergency Medicine. Access block and overcrowding in emergency departments. 2004.
23. Bagust A, Place M, Posnett JW. Dynamics of bed use in accommodating emergency admissions: stochastic simulation model. BMJ 1999; 319: 155-158.