International emergency nursing
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Healthcare providers' beliefs and comfort with analgesics can impact medication decisions. Interprofessional educational interventions (IPE) improve medication delivery processes ultimately resulting in better patient care. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact on nurses' satisfaction and comfort with administering intranasal fentanyl for pediatric pain management in the Emergency Department (ED) before and following IPE. ⋯ The use of IPE facilitated knowledge sharing to improve nurses' comfort with administering analgesic medication and the quality of patient care services.
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Anaphylaxis is one of the potentially life threatening conditions which present to the ED however there is no universal understanding or definitive diagnostic test to aid ED practitioners in its management. Evidence suggests this leads to confusion for ED staff and may compromise patient care. This paper reviews the existing evidence around the effective diagnosis, emergency treatment and long term management of anaphylaxis. ⋯ A retrospective audit design sampled all patients presenting with anaphylaxis in one calendar year, 146 cases were eligible for inclusion. The audit results were consistent with the existing understanding and showed widespread inconsistencies in the diagnosis and treatment of this patient group. The implications the findings may have for the wider ED nursing community are discussed and we conclude that further research and service development is needed to ensure the best possible care for patients with anaphylaxis.
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This survey evaluates the attendance patterns of people who responded to a two part questionnaire (before and after treatment) regarding the reasons they had presented at a hospital Emergency Department co located with an Urgent Care Centre. A total 485 people responded before treatment and 163 people responded after completing treatment. ⋯ Some were frustrated at the apparent speed of access to care by those with apparently trivial problems, not understanding that they were accessing a different service. On the whole people who attended were happy with the advice and treatment they received.
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This paper reports on the development of an innovative project-the Older Persons' Outreach and Support Team' (OPOST) - within University Hospital of Southampton's Emergency Department. The achievements of this Team are benchmarked against the 'quality, innovation, productivity, prevention' (QIPP) agenda. The demographic changes resulting in the UK's ageing patient population are also discussed in this context.
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Hip-fracture is a common orthopaedic injury presenting to the Emergency Department, particularly within the elderly population. Standards of practice dictating the care of these patients include the early administration of analgesia and an accurate clinical assessment. Once a hip-fracture has been confirmed with diagnostic-imaging, the patient should be transferred to an orthopaedic ward as soon as possible. These standards have been identified from a range of national policies and evidence-based literature. ⋯ There were examples of good practice in this audit, but also areas that require improvement. We recommend that a care bundle be implemented to focus on improvements in pain-relief, pressure-care and fast-tracking.