• Muhammad Akhter Hamid, Sohaib Siddiqui, Jabeen Fayyaz, Ayesha Chandna, Aliya Ariz, Joe Butchey, Elancheliyan Ambalavanar, Niraj Mistry, Aftab Muhammad Azad, Junaid A Bhatti, and Dennis Scolnik.
• Scarborough and Rouge Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
• World J Emerg Med. 2017 Jan 1; 8 (4): 264-268.

BackgroundWe assessed whether the paediatric-appropriate facilities were available at Emergency Departments (ED) in community hospitals in a Canadian province.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey of EDs in community hospitals in Ontario, Canada that had inpatient paediatric facilities and a neonatal intensive care unit. Key informants were ED chiefs, clinical educators, or managers. The survey included questions about paediatric facilities related to environment, triage, training, and staff in EDs.ResultsOf 52 hospitals, 69% (n=36) responded to our survey. Of them, 14% EDs (n=5) had some separated spaces available for paediatric patients. About 53% (n=19) of EDs lacked children activities, e.g., toys. Only 11% (n=4) EDs were using paediatric triage scales and 42% (n=15) had a designated paediatric resuscitation bay. Only half of the ED (n=18) required from their staff to update paediatric life support training. Only 31% (n=11) had a designated liaison paediatrician for the ED. Paediatric social worker was present in only 8% (n=3) of EDs in community hospitals.ConclusionMost of the Ontario community hospital EDs included in this survey had inadequate facilities for paediatric patients such as specific waiting and treatment areas.

3 keywords...

hide…