Overcrowded ERs: analysis of the phenomenon and managing proposals


Submitted: 17 February 2013
Accepted: 17 February 2013
Published: 10 June 2010
Abstract Views: 1362
PDF: 7762
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

  • Gianni Rastelli Pronto Soccorso e Medicina d’Urgenza, Dipartimento di Emergenza-Urgenza e della Diagnostica, Ospedale di Fidenza-S. Secondo; Azienda USL di Parma, .
  • Mario Cavazza Medicina d’Urgenza e Pronto Soccorso, Dipartimento di Emergenza/Urgenza, Chirurgia generale e dei Trapianti; Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna - Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi, Bologna, .
  • Gianfranco Cervellin Pronto Soccorso e Medicina d’Urgenza, Dipartimento di Emergenza-Urgenza; Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Parma, .
The “overcrowding” in Emergency Departments (EDs) and its potentially negative consequences, is a well known phenomenon in western countries. The causes of this phenomenon in this area are: constantly decreased number of hospital beds, increased number of ED visits and demographic changes (increasing prevalence of elderly people and migrants). Overcrowding in EDs accounts different timing of various care-paths (e.g. door-to-balloon time in STEMI) and also influences the degree of care given to patients. Moreover overcrowding has also been considered as a first-line cause of doctor’s and nurse’s burnout and of verbal or physical assault. The overcrowding phenomenon seems to be more effectively influenced by interventions directed to improve patient’s output from ED to wards; by contrast interventions directed to limit ED visits failed to be effective.

Gianni Rastelli, Pronto Soccorso e Medicina d’Urgenza, Dipartimento di Emergenza-Urgenza e della Diagnostica, Ospedale di Fidenza-S. Secondo; Azienda USL di Parma
Mario Cavazza, Medicina d’Urgenza e Pronto Soccorso, Dipartimento di Emergenza/Urgenza, Chirurgia generale e dei Trapianti; Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna - Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi, Bologna
Gianfranco Cervellin, Pronto Soccorso e Medicina d’Urgenza, Dipartimento di Emergenza-Urgenza; Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Parma
Rastelli, G., Cavazza, M., & Cervellin, G. (2010). Overcrowded ERs: analysis of the phenomenon and managing proposals. Emergency Care Journal, 6(2), 25–35. https://doi.org/10.4081/ecj.2010.2.25

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations