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Profile of attendance at a maternity hospital emergency room
1Eastern Regional Vocational Training Programme in General Practice, University College Dublin.
Background:
Direct presentations to secondary care that could have been managed in primary care have been the subject of much study. Social factors may influence the decision to present directly to secondary care services.
Aim:
To determine the profile and primary care service use of patients attending a maternity hospital emergency room (ER).
Methods:
A self-administered, questionnaire based, cross-sectional study was performed over a period of one month.
Results:
Of 350 patients attending the ER, 343 (98%) completed a questionnaire. Mean age of patients attending was 28 years (range 16-65). Thirty seven per cent were eligible for free medical care and 39% belonged to socio-economic group six. Fifty nine per cent attended outside normal hours, 31% had a female general practitioner (GP) and 38% were referred by a GP to the ER. Twenty eight per cent had seen their GP in the previous three days, 31% had consulted a GP with their current problem and 58% felt "comfortable" or "very comfortable" attending their GP with a gynaecological complaint.
Conclusions:
This study indicates that the service is responsible for a considerable workload, with a low level of use of primary care services by those attending.