Emergency nurse : the journal of the RCN Accident and Emergency Nursing Association
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As the number of patients who present at emergency departments (EDs) increases (Australian College for Emergency Medicine 2005), ED staff are coming under greater pressure to assess, treat and discharge patients within time limits. This article describes the introduction of a rapid assessment team in an ED in Adelaide, Australia, which assesses patients at triage and treats them until space is available in the main department, thereby improving access and patient flow.
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Evidence suggests that children who are in pain and who present to emergency departments receive sub-optimal pain assessment and relief. Many factors contribute to this unacceptable quality of care, including emergency nurses' lack of knowledge about the appropriate pain assessment tools. This article refers to a literature review and case study to discuss children's pain assessment tools. It concludes that an education programme for emergency nurses could be provided to augment their awareness of best practice pain assessment and management guidelines.