CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF AN ACCIDENT AND EMERGENCY WARD

Objectives-To describe the work, both qualitatively and quantitatively , of an accident and emergency (A&E) ward, and discuss some of the adv antages and disadvantages associated with this ward. Methods-An observ ational study was carried out of all patients admitted to the A&E ward of Glasgow Royal Infirmary from 1 January 1992 to 31 December 1992. E pidemiological and management data were collected for all patients adm itted. Results-There were 2460 admissions, of which 69% were related t o trauma and 45% to head injury; 47% of the patients had consumed alco hol before admission. Accidental trauma was the commonest reason for a dmission (57%), followed by assault (33%). Ninety two per cent of admi ssions stayed for less than 3 d, but 33% of the workload was spent on a small number of patients admitted for longer than 7 d. Conclusions-T his A&E ward presents a significant workload, and some of its most ser ious problems lie with those patients who stay longer than 72 h. The s afe and effective use of the ward depends upon it being well resourced , along with the department it serves.