European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Providing emergency medicine at the entrance to the hospital proves to be a sufficient link between pre- and inhospital medical care. The aim of our study is to investigate how many open ward and intensive care facilities can be saved within the hospital by the emergency department. Therefore, the data of our emergency department within a 2000-bed teaching hospital are retrospectively analysed. ⋯ Of the delayed care patients, 93061 (96%) were discharged and 4200 (4%) were admitted to an open ward. Of 5150 patients with life-threatening diseases, 551 (11%) needed an intensive care unit and 2328 (45%) an open ward. Providing acute and immediate care in our emergency department saves both intensive care and open ward facilities of the hospital.