• Emerg Med J · Oct 2010

    Comparative Study

    Impact of a GP cooperative on lower acuity emergency department attendances.

    • Fergus D O'Kelly, Conor Teljeur, Ian Carter, and Patrick K Plunkett.
    • Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. feokelly@tcd.ie
    • Emerg Med J. 2010 Oct 1;27(10):770-3.

    BackgroundIn 1998 'Dubdoc', Ireland's first out-of-hours general practice emergency service, opened in an outpatient suite in St James's Hospital with a separate entrance 300 m from the emergency department (ED). Dubdoc was established with the aim of providing an easy access out-of-hours service for ambulatory patients of those doctors supplying the service.AimTo determine whether ED attendances for patients in the lower acuity triage categories 4 and 5 have changed since the establishment of 'Dubdoc'.MethodsA retrospective review of all attendances at the 'Dubdoc' service was compared with attendances at the ED for triage categories 4 and 5 of the same hospital over a 9-year period (1999-2007 inclusive) for equivalent times of day.ResultsED attendances during 'Dubdoc' hours have decreased as a proportion of all attendances for triage categories 4 and 5. ED attendances for triage categories 4 and 5 fell substantially during the study period.ConclusionsAlthough the presence of the 'Dubdoc' service has resulted in a decrease in ED attendances for triage categories 4 and 5, this is a minor proportion of the overall decrease in attendances in this group of patients.

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