[No Friday afternoon peak in the number of patients referred to the emergency room at De Weezenlanden Hospital of Zwolle, May/June 1997].
OBJECTIVE
To determine how the influx of patients in an emergency room (ER) is spread over the week and what factors play a part.


METHODS
Prospective.


METHODS
The ER contacts in the De Weezenlanden Hospital of Zwolle, the Netherlands, were recorded on standardized forms during the period 1 May-14 June 1997 (6 weeks).


RESULTS
1995 ER contacts were recorded: 47% were referred by the GP and 8% by the municipal ambulance service, while 45% came at their own initiative. Injuries to the locomotor apparatus and wounds accounted for at least 50% of all contacts and were more frequent among patients attending at their own initiative (73%) or delivered by the ambulance service (49%) than among those referred by the GP (31%). Patients with various diseases, on the other hand, were mostly referred by the GPs (62%). 76% of all contacts occurred between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. There was no Friday afternoon peak. The differences between the number of contacts during the week and in the weekend were not significant. Of the patients referred by the GP or delivered by the ambulance service more than half were admitted to the hospital, as against 18% of the patients attending at their own initiative.


CONCLUSIONS
In the ER examined there were not more new patients on the Friday afternoon than during the rest of the week.
Meyboom-de Jong
B
B
van der Kam
W J
WJ
Pierik
E G
EG
Bosveld
H P
HP
D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D010361:Patients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010507:Periodicity; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*