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Emergency care. Change of pace
Paul Everden1, Mark Eardley, Paula Lorgelly
1East Anglian Ambulance Service Trust.
The Health Service Journal
|August 6, 2003
Summary
A new patient assessment system prioritizing immediate needs, featuring community paramedics, significantly reduced emergency room visits and improved emergency response times.
Area of Science:
- Primary Care Medicine
- Emergency Medical Services
- Health Systems Management
Background:
- General Practice (GP) settings face challenges in managing patient flow and emergency care.
- Inappropriate Accident and Emergency (A&E) admissions strain healthcare resources.
- Timely assessment and treatment are crucial for effective patient outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To implement and evaluate a novel patient assessment system in a GP practice.
- To expedite patient treatment by focusing on immediate needs.
- To reduce non-urgent Accident and Emergency (A&E) admissions.
Main Methods:
- Introduction of a new patient assessment protocol emphasizing urgency.
- Integration of a community paramedic role within the GP team.
- Data collection on A&E admissions and emergency response times over eight months.
Main Results:
- A significant reduction in Accident and Emergency (A&E) admissions was observed.
- Emergency response times, specifically for Category A incidents, were accelerated.
- The community paramedic role proved integral to the system's success.
Conclusions:
- The new patient assessment system effectively decreased A&E admissions.
- Enhanced primary care assessment, including community paramedics, improves emergency response.
- This model offers a viable strategy for optimizing urgent care delivery in primary settings.