Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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To quantify psychological distress experienced by emergency, anaesthetic and intensive care doctors during the acceleration phase of COVID-19 in the UK and Ireland. ⋯ Findings indicate that during the acceleration phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, almost half of frontline doctors working in acute care reported psychological distress as measured by the GHQ-12. Findings from this study should inform strategies to optimise preparedness and explore modifiable factors associated with increased psychological distress in the short and long term.
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Observational Study
Emergency department attendances during the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective analysis of attendances following Irish governmental pandemic measures.
COVID-19 has resulted in the death of over 1 million people to date. Following government-implemented regulations, there has been concern over the apparent decline in emergency department (ED) attendances and the resultant health legacy. Therefore, we aimed to characterise the attendances to an Irish tertiary hospital ED following the implementation of these regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ Our findings suggest that the combination of government-imposed restrictions and perceived risk of attending an ED during a pandemic may contribute to reduced attendances. Public confidence in EDs is necessary to reduce collateral damage caused by failure to seek medical attention during a pandemic; adequate infrastructure to allow social distancing and isolation capacity in EDs is a necessity.
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The large volume of patients, rapid staff turnover and high work pressure mean that the usability of all systems within the ED is important. The transition to electronic health records (EHRs) has brought many benefits to emergency care but imposes a significant burden on staff to enter data. Poor usability has a direct consequence and opportunity cost in staff time and resources that could otherwise be employed in patient care. This research measures the usability of EHR systems in UK EDs using a validated assessment tool. ⋯ In this survey, no UK ED EHR system met the internationally validated standard of acceptable usability for information technology.