ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The number of asylum seekers awaiting decisions on their claims in the UK has more than tripled since 2014. How we meet international obligations to provide appropriate healthcare to asylum seekers and refugees (ASRs) is therefore an increasingly important issue. The views of frontline healthcare workers are vital to ensure the development of sustainable and effective health policy when it comes to caring for this group. METHOD: A single-centre qualitative study in the form of semistructured interviews was conducted at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital ED in Glasgow, Scotland, between January and March 2023. Volunteering ED care providers (EDCPs)-doctors and nurses-working in the ED were interviewed and the data analysed and presented through a thematic analytical framework. RESULTS: 12 semistructured interviews were conducted-6 doctors and 6 nurses. Analysis revealed four themes: (1) 'staff attitudes' highlighted in particular the positive views of the participants in providing care for ASRs; (2) 'presentation patterns' revealed significant variations in opinion, with one-third of participants, for example, believing there was no difference in presentations compared with the general population; (3) 'challenges to optimal care' outlines multiple subthemes which impact care including the unique challenge of the ED triage system; and (4) 'transition in care' discusses participant concerns regarding arranging safe and appropriate follow-up for ASR patients. Ethical dilemmas in providing care, as highlighted in previous studies, did not feature heavily in discussions in this study. CONCLUSION: This study provides an insight into the views of EDCPs in providing care to ASRs in the ED. Study findings can potentially contribute to the development of ED-specific guidelines as well as inform wider health policy and provide a focus and direction for further research.
ABSTRACT
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) state that acute kidney injury (AKI) is seen in 13-18% of all people being admitted to hospital and that other patients will further go on to develop AKI during their time in hospital, with around 30-40% being in the operative setting. AKI has an estimated inpatient mortality of 20-30% in the UK and can lead to long-term morbidities like chronic kidney disease.[2] AKI is under-recognised and badly managed despite its prevalence and seriousness, with NCEPOD report stating that only 50% of patients with AKI received good care, that there was poor assessment of risk factors for AKI, and there was an unacceptable delay in recognising post-admission AKI in 43% of patients.[4] Baseline data collected on the urology ward in Ninewells Hospital, showed that only five of 22 (23%) patients undergoing urological surgery had post-operative creatinine measured on the ward within 48 hours (the primary method for detecting AKI). Excluding patients who were discharged the same day 5/16 (31%) received the blood test. The aim of the project was to increase the number of patients returning to ward 9 post-surgery who receive a serum creatinine measurement within two days of their urological surgery, excluding daycases. Specifically, we wanted the reliability of this measurement to be 95% or over in ward 9 by 30 July 2014. This was to be done by raising awareness around AKI on ward 9 and changing protocol so that every patient staying on ward 9 beyond their day of surgery should receive a post-operative creatinine. This would be tested for a set amount of time to see if patients with AKI were being missed. Despite not being able to implement a set protocol, the percentage of patients receiving post-operative creatinine measurements on ward 9 after a urological surgery still increased significantly. By interacting with the urology team and presenting our data, the knowledge and comprehension of the problem was altered. This lead to a change in culture and a significant increase in the number of post-operative creatinine measurements being taken. Through building relationships on the ward and sharing our data and knowledge there was an increase from 27% of patients receiving post-op creatinine in our first week of collecting data, to 87% in our last week on ward 9. However, without a set tool or change in protocol this change appears to have not been sustainable as the percentage dropped to 42% two weeks later.
