Ali Alyasin1, Clint Douglas2. 1. School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Qld, Australia; Emergency Department, Security Forces Hospital Program, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 2. School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Qld, Australia. Electronic address: c2.douglas@qut.edu.au.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The majority of patients who attend emergency departments (EDs) in Saudi Arabia have non-urgent problems, resulting in overcrowding, excessive waiting times and delayed care for more acutely ill patients. The purpose of this research was to examine the reasons for non-urgent visits to a Saudi ED and factors associated with patient perceptions of urgency. METHODS: We administered a survey to 350 consecutively presenting Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) IV or V adult patients at a large tertiary ED in Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia, during 25 days of data collection in March 2013. RESULTS: Over half of the sample usually visited the ED to access healthcare. The most common reasons for attending the ED were not having a regular healthcare provider (63%), being able to receive care on the same day (62%), and the convenience of and access to medical care 24/7 (62%). Approximately two-thirds of CTAS V patients and one-third of CTAS IV patients believed their conditions were more urgent than their triage nurse rating. CONCLUSION: Multiple factors influence non-urgent visits to the ED in the Saudi context including insufficient community awareness of the role of the ED and perceived lack of access to primary healthcare services. Crown
BACKGROUND: The majority of patients who attend emergency departments (EDs) in Saudi Arabia have non-urgent problems, resulting in overcrowding, excessive waiting times and delayed care for more acutely ill patients. The purpose of this research was to examine the reasons for non-urgent visits to a Saudi ED and factors associated with patient perceptions of urgency. METHODS: We administered a survey to 350 consecutively presenting Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) IV or V adult patients at a large tertiary ED in Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia, during 25 days of data collection in March 2013. RESULTS: Over half of the sample usually visited the ED to access healthcare. The most common reasons for attending the ED were not having a regular healthcare provider (63%), being able to receive care on the same day (62%), and the convenience of and access to medical care 24/7 (62%). Approximately two-thirds of CTAS V patients and one-third of CTAS IV patients believed their conditions were more urgent than their triage nurse rating. CONCLUSION: Multiple factors influence non-urgent visits to the ED in the Saudi context including insufficient community awareness of the role of the ED and perceived lack of access to primary healthcare services. Crown
Authors: Hadi A Almansour; Nouf M Aloudah; Tariq M Alhawassi; Betty Chaar; Ines Krass; Bandana Saini Journal: Explor Res Clin Soc Pharm Date: 2021-09-29
Authors: J Frick; M Möckel; M Schmiedhofer; J Searle; B Erdmann; M Erhart; A Slagman Journal: Med Klin Intensivmed Notfmed Date: 2017-09-12 Impact factor: 0.840