The wider implications of the COVID-19 pandemic: Assessing the impact of accident and emergency use for frequent attenders.
Int Emerg Nurs
; 56: 100984, 2021 05.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1091827
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Emergency departments have seen altered patterns of attendance since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with reductions in the number of attendances for non-COVID-19 - patients. We assessed the use of the emergency department by frequent attenders during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and explored any changes in emergency department attendance by this group.METHODS:
As part of ongoing improvement work, we utilised a cohort design to evaluate the difference in patterns of attendance for the frequent attender group in a single centre. We created a 2019 'top attender' cohort and a similar cohort for 2020. We compared admission patterns between the two time periods in order to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this group.RESULTS:
Both groups were predominately male. Mental health and substance misuse use problems were common across both cohorts. The majority of patients lived in a socio-economically deprived areas. The median number emergency department visits in 2019, for the top attender cohort was 6 (IQR 4-9) vs 4 (IQR 2-7) for the top attender cohort of 2020 (p < .0013).CONCLUSION:
This single centre evaluation has shown a significant reduction in emergency department attendances for a frequent attender cohort in a single centre. Future work should investigate the longer-term impact which the COVID-19 pandemic has had on this patient group.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Emergency Service, Hospital
/
COVID-19
/
Health Services Misuse
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Diagnostic study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
English
Journal:
Int Emerg Nurs
Journal subject:
Nursing
/
Emergency Medicine
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.ienj.2021.100984
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