A paediatric observation ward.
The paediatric ward and paediatric outpatients at Port Moresby General Hospital have become increasingly crowded during the past few years. 15% of paediatric admissions stayed less than 24 hours, which meant that much work was done unnecessarily on these patients who would be better regarded as outpatients. A paediatric observation ward was opened in September 1982 to help overcome these problems. An analysis of the 2132 admissions to the observation ward during 1983 showed that 89% of the children were later sent home without requiring hospital admission.
D002648:Child; D006757:Hospital Units / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010219:Papua New Guinea; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000639:trends*; D010372:Pediatrics