• Dana Stys, Kerri Landry, Tatum Mitra, and Vincent Grant.
• Section of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Alberta Children's Hospital, Calgary, Alberta.
• Paed Child Healt Can. 2020 Dec 1; 25 (8): 498-504.

ObjectivesA large proportion of all emergency visits for paediatric patients across Canada are to general emergency departments (EDs). These centres may not be adequately equipped to provide optimal care for high acuity paediatric emergencies. The objective of this study was to determine paediatric readiness for general EDs and urgent care centres (UCCs) across Alberta and provide each centre with an overall weighted Paediatric Readiness Score (WPRS).MethodsA paediatric readiness assessment consisting of 55-questions normalized on a 100-point scale was used to survey 107 general EDs, UCCs, and tertiary paediatric EDs in Alberta, Canada. It addresses six primary categories, including Coordination of Patient Care, Physician/Nurse Staffing and Training, Quality Improvement Activities, Patient Safety Initiatives, Policies and Procedures, and Equipment and Supplies. Descriptive statistics were used to present the WPRS score among different groups. Linear regression models were used to explore factors associated with the score.ResultsThe overall response rate was 59.8%. The median overall WPRS (/100) for all general EDs and UCCs was 48.4 ([interquartile range {IQR}] 17.6). Factors that were correlated with overall score included high paediatric patient volume (24.28, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 10.52 to 38.04) and involvement in a simulation education outreach program (9.38, 95% CI: 1.11 to 17.66).ConclusionBased on this survey, the WPRS of EDs and UCCs across Alberta suggest a need to improve readiness to respond to high acuity paediatric emergencies in these settings.© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Canadian Paediatric Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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