Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
-
Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2021
Planning for the Next Pandemic: Reflections on the Early Phase of the Australian COVID-19 Public Health Response from the Emergency Department.
EDs play a crucial role as frontline health services throughout public health emergencies, including pandemics. The strength of the Australian public health response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has mitigated the impact of the pandemic on clinical services, but there has still been a substantial impact on EDs and the health system. ⋯ Notwithstanding, the remarkable efforts of healthcare workers across the health system, COVID-19 has uncovered structural and planning challenges and highlighted weaknesses and strengths of the Australian federation. In anticipating future pandemics and other public health threats, particularly in the face of climate change, hard-won lessons from the COVID-19 response should be incorporated in future planning, policies, practice and advocacy.
-
Emerg Med Australas · Aug 2021
Months of May: Mental health presentations and the impact of a psychiatric emergency care centre on an inner-city emergency department.
The impact of psychiatric emergency care centres (PECCs) on ED mental health (MH) presentations has not been presented. We aim to compare demographics, diagnosis and admission frequency of patients presenting to an inner-city ED with MH complaints, before and for several years after the opening of a PECC. ⋯ Between 2005 and 2017, MH presentations to ED became significantly more frequent. The opening of PECC reduced length of stay in ED and provided an admission trajectory for patients expressing suicidality, while retaining the pathway to the acute psychiatric ward for those patients presenting with psychosis.
-
Emergency medicine researchers face the challenge of prioritising patients' immediate interests and maintaining hospital flow while attempting to collect clinical data. Even in low-risk scenarios, excessive consent processes can make it difficult to recruit patients while observing guidelines on efficient triage. ⋯ We then argue that there need be no conflict between the imperatives of patient wellbeing and clinical research. Apparent conflicts between treatment and research could be reduced through creative recruitment techniques: the adoption of an 'opt-out' approach; securing the budget for a dedicated research assistant; early consultation with the institution's human research ethics committee; and the use of a short, simple participant information and consent form with a QR code linking to a more detailed outline of the study.