ABSTRACT
AIM: To assess the incidence of diagnoses related to alcohol use in the population of homeless people admitted to hospital emergency departments (EDs). MATERIAL AND METHOD: Data were analysed from three hospitals concerning stays of homeless people in three EDs in Bydgoszcz, Poland, in 2013-2015; 3133 stays were identified. The data were compiled using Microsoft Excel and Statistica 10 statistical software. RESULTS: At the time of admission to EDs, 31% of homeless people were considered to be under the influence of alcohol. Diagnoses related to alcohol use accounted for 25% of all diagnoses. The average blood alcohol concentration in the patients was 2.97 per mille. The average blood alcohol concentration in the group of men was significantly higher than that in the group of women (p = 0.015). The average length of stay in the ED of patients under the influence of alcohol was significantly longer (p < 0.0001) than among sober patients. CONCLUSIONS: Homeless people under the influence of alcohol account for a third of the population of homeless patients admitted to hospital emergency departments, while alcohol-related ICD-10 diagnoses account for a fourth of all diagnoses in these patients. Homeless patients under the influence of alcohol stay longer in hospital emergency departments than do sober homeless people, which may translate into more frequent acts of aggression towards medical personnel. In Poland there are no systemic ED-level solutions as regards dealing with homeless patients for whom alcohol dependence is in many cases a reality.
ABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: The Quality Management System ISO 9001:2008 introduced by the Management Board of the hospital in the year 2007 resulted in change of the methods used by the Hospital Infection Control Team (HICT) to assess the sanitary-and-hygienic condition. The inspection protocol used by HICT was modified as part of the Quality Management System. It was supplemented by the score sheet which made the inspection results more objective. The purpose of the study was to assess the results of the supervision over the sanitary and epidemiologic condition of the hospital as well as personnel training carried out in the years 2007-2010 by the Hospital Infection Control Team (HICT) of Szpital Uniwersytecki nr 2 im. dr. J.Biziela (J.Biziel University Hospital no. 2). 407 inspection protocols issued in the years 2007-2010 were analysed. The sanitary/hygienic condition indicators and personnel education indicators were calculated based on the analysed data. The sanitary/hygienic condition indicator for the entire hospital in the years 2008-2010 amounted to over 91.50% and only in the year 2007 it was 89.33%. While the personnel education indicator for the entire hospital increased from 90.35% in 2007 to 93.75% in 2010. CONCLUSIONS: the assessment of hospital units performed on the basis of the new protocol of the sanitary/hygienic condition has been proven in practice, i.e. insufficient personnel education as regards hospital hygiene is efficiently detected by HICT at individual workstations and the Management Board of the hospital is notified on the ongoing basis on the results of supervision provided by HICT.
