Emergency nurse : the journal of the RCN Accident and Emergency Nursing Association
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Staff in emergency departments or minor injury units are sometimes asked to remove rings from patients' fingers. This is often because their presence has become painful or is preventing treatment of injuries or illnesses. Practitioners must be able to identify the tourniquet effect of rings or bracelets, and understand why and how they should be removed. This article describes the procedures that can be used.
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There has been much investigation into the causes and management of overcrowding, but little about how it affects care delivery. The author therefore undertook a systematic literature review of the subject. This revealed that diverse areas of care are affected by overcrowding, and confirmed its adverse effects on patient experience and care.
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The Haaglanden Medical Centre, the Hague, Netherlands, has opened a 'virtual' acute admission unit (VAAU) to increase throughput of acute patients. The VAAU consists of 15 inpatient beds located on different wards that are set aside for patients from the emergency department (ED) when all of the beds on specialty wards are being used. ⋯ This suggests that the introduction of VAAUs may address similar problems of ED throughput in the U. K.