| Home | E-Submission | Sitemap | Contact Us |  
top_img
J Korean Soc Emerg Med > Volume 8(1); 1997 > Article
Journal of The Korean Society of Emergency Medicine 1997;8(1): 31-35.
ED OVERCROWDING AND SPECIAL UNIT FOR OBSERVATION
Yong Rok Ha, Soon Mi Chung, Moon Joon Chang, Ho Sik Sim, Hahn Shik Lee
Department of Emergency Medicine, Severance Hospital Yonsei University College of Medicine, Korea.
ABSTRACT
Overcrowding of emergency departments is a growing problem. Delays in admitting patients to inpatient units have been reported as a contributing factor to overcrowding. Overcrowding in ED results in many patients not receiving needed care and impairs the ability of the ED provider to meet the needs of those patients that are treated. The effect of the critically ill patients on the overcrowded emergency department make emergency physicians frustrated. So we created 'the special unit for observation' of critically ill patients and managed them continuously and closely. The special unit for observation have 4 physical beds and monitors and 2 ventilators. One nurse and senior ED residents were asigned to the management of the patients in the special unit. 160 patients(3.4% of all ED visits) admitted to special unit during the period of March 1, 1996 to May 31, 1996. we could continue assessment and management of critically ill patients without psychologic strain or burnout generated by overcrowding. We think that special unit for critically ill patients is a very effective alternative to overcrowded ED.
Key words: Overcrowding, Critically Ill patients, Special unit for observation
TOOLS
PDF Links  PDF Links
Full text via DOI  Full text via DOI
Download Citation  Download Citation
Share:      
METRICS
1,251
View
6
Download
Related article
Editorial Office
The Korean Society of Emergency Medicine
TEL: +82-62-226-1780   FAX: +82-62-224-3501   E-mail: 5151649@naver.com
About |  Browse Articles |  Current Issue |  For Authors and Reviewers
Copyright © The Korean Society of Emergency Medicine.                 Developed in M2PI