How to provide effective safety netting in the emergency department

Safety netting in the emergency department (ED) is provided to patients when their presenting complaint has not completely resolved but they can be safely discharged home. Safety netting involves providing patients, and/or their parents, family members or carers, with verbal and written information about where to go and/or who to contact should they develop any concerning signs and symptoms or if their condition does not resolve as expected. Nurses providing safety netting must ensure they have the knowledge and skills to do so and work within the limits of their competence. • Safety netting should cover the patient's current health status, the expected course of their condition, concerning signs and symptoms, and how and where to seek further medical advice if needed. • Effective safety netting can help to ensure that the patient is equipped to safely monitor their condition at home and act appropriately if it deteriorates. • Nurses should summarise the advice and information discussed and check that the patient has understood them, for example by using the teach-back method. • Online and digital resources are increasingly used to support safety netting and nurses must ascertain that the patient has the required equipment and digital literacy before signposting them to such resources. REFLECTIVE ACTIVITY: 'How to' articles can help to update your practice and ensure it remains evidence-based. Apply this article to your practice. Reflect on and write a short account of: • How this article might improve your practice when providing safety netting in the emergency department. • How you could use this information to educate nursing students or your colleagues on the appropriate procedure and evidence base for providing safety netting in the emergency department.