Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
-
To assess the effect of the introduction of NHS Direct on advice seeking calls to an accident and emergency (A&E) department. ⋯ The introduction of NHS Direct has allowed for a mechanism to be put in place reducing the number of calls for advice being dealt with by the A&E department clinical staff with a concomitant time saving. At the same time the number of calls for advice made by the public to the hospital has dramatically increased.
-
To develop a computer based storage system for clinical images-radiographs, photographs, ECGs, text-for use in teaching, training, reference and research within an accident and emergency (A&E) department. Exploration of methods to access and utilise the data stored in the archive. ⋯ We have successfully developed a digital image capture and storage system, which provides an excellent teaching facility for a busy A&E department. We have revolutionised the practice of the "hand-over meeting".
-
Ingestion of a foreign body, the commonest being a coin, is a common problem in children. In most cases the coin will pass uneventfully through the gastrointestinal tract. ⋯ This case is particularly important because the presenting symptom of wheezing led to the erroneous diagnosis of asthma, which resulted in a three month delay in investigation and treatment. In addition, it raises the issue of whether to perform chest radiography on newly diagnosed asthmatic patients to rule out the presence of a foreign body and thereby prevent serious complications.
-
(1) To determine the pattern of ambulance arrivals in the emergency department (ED) and (2) to review resource allocation based on these data. ⋯ In planning resource allocation and in the development of contingency plans, the resource use of ambulance patients and the pattern of their arrivals should be taken into account.