The Medical Emergency Team (MET): a model for the district general hospital.
BACKGROUND
Most hospitals have a Cardiac Arrest Team, activated after cardiopulmonary arrest. The Medical Emergency Team (MET) is a newer concept, encompassing a proactive response to a wide range of emergencies with the aim of preventing irreversible organ failure and cardiopulmonary arrest.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the application of the MET model to the district general hospital, the spectrum of clinical conditions encountered, outcomes and administrative problems.


METHODS
Data regarding each MET activation was collected prospectively.


RESULTS
The MET responded to 68 calls to 63 patients in 12 months. The mean age was 60.4 years (range: neonatal to 94 years). The most common conditions leading to MET activation were chest pain (19.1%), cardiopulmonary arrest (14.7%), seizures (14.7%) and respiratory distress (13.2%).


CONCLUSIONS
This paper demonstrates that the application of the MET model to the district general hospital improves the process of patient care. We are unable to conclude whether the MET alters morbidity or mortality for hospital inpatients.
Daly
F F
FF
Department of Emergency Medicine, Swan District Hospital, Perth, WA.
Sidney
K L
KL
Fatovich
D M
DM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006786:Hospitals, Urban; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D017146:Models, Organizational; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014904:Western Australia