Earlier treatment means earlier discharge
June 29, 2010
Streamlining ambulance transfers
Calgary emergency medical technicians (EMTs) are teaming up with registered nurses (RNs) in a pilot project designed to reduce emergency department length of stay and get emergency medical crews back on the road sooner.
Having to remain with their patients until formally transferred into hospital care can keep emergency medical crews at the hospital, out of their ambulance and away from the communities they serve for hours every shift. However, a new project at Calgary’s Rockyview General Hospital allows crews to transfer their patients to beds overseen by a hospitalbased EMT/RN team.
If urgent medical care is required, patients are taken directly into the emergency department. Otherwise, patients arriving by ambulance can be assessed and transferred to a five-bed area close to the emergency department and begin treatment, freeing up ambulance crews so they can return to the road.
Diagnostics and treatment can begin because an RN is present to work with paramedical staff.
Department manager Mary Louise Baines says earlier diagnosis means treatment can begin sooner, resulting in an earlier discharge. This ultimately improves patient flow through the entire system.
“We are seeing patients discharged from (these) beds without needing to be seen in the mainstream emergency system,” says Baines.
The project continues until June 2010.
>> Read more about our Action On: Emergency initiatives.
