RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Emergency department overcrowding: a survey among European neurotrauma centres
JF Emergency Medicine Journal
JO Emerg Med J
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and the British Association for Accident & Emergency Medicine
SP emermed-2017-206796
DO 10.1136/emermed-2017-206796
A1 Kimberley Bernadette Velt
A1 Maryse Cnossen
A1 Pleunie P M Rood
A1 Ewout W Steyerberg
A1 Suzanne Polinder
A1 Hester F Lingsma
A1 ,
YR 2018
UL http://emj.bmj.com/content/early/2018/03/20/emermed-2017-206796.abstract
AB Background ED overcrowding is an increasing problem worldwide that may negatively affect quality of care and patient outcomes. We aimed to study ED overcrowding across European centres.Methods Questionnaires on structure and process of care, including crowding, were distributed to 68 centres participating in a large European study on traumatic brain injury (Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in Traumatic Brain Injury).Results Of the 65 centres included in the analysis, 32 (49%) indicated that overcrowding was a frequent problem and 28 (43%) reported that patients were placed in hallways ‘multiple times a day’; 27 (41%) stated that multiple times a day, there was no bed available when a patient needed to be admitted. Ambulance diversion rarely occurred in the participating centres.Conclusion Similar to reports from other parts of the world, ED crowding appears to be a considerable problem in Europe. More research is needed to determine effective ways to reduce overcrowding.