Nurse-led ED support for residential aged care facility staff: an evaluation study

To evaluate the impact of a nurse-led telephone support service to Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACFs) on a range of measures relating to the transfer of acutely unwell residents to the Emergency Department (ED) of a large tertiary referral hospital in New South Wales, Australia over a 9 month period.

A pre- and post-intervention design determined the impact of the telephone service, associated clinical guidelines and education. Data from 4 intervention RACFs using the nurse-led telephone service were compared with 8 control RACFs. Data included the older patient's triage category, presenting problem(s), transfer rates from RACFs, ED admissions, and overall hospital length of stay. Interviews and focus groups with staff from RACFs and EDs were conducted to ascertain their experiences.

Reduced presentations of older people to the ED from the 4 pilot RACFs occurred. High levels of satisfaction among staff in RACFs were reported.