title: Making the link--an impact evaluation of one Dublin hospital's accident & emergency department's liaison nurse service.
abstract: The Accident & Emergency (A&E) liaison nurse service (LNS) was introduced at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin as a quality improvement initiative in June 1996. It aimed to improve and enhance communication channels between the hospital and general practitioners (GPs) in the hospital's catchment area. A quantitative study was conducted to evaluate the A&E LNS, in partial fulfilment of a Master's degree in Nursing Science at the University of Dublin, Trinity College, Dublin. The primary users (90 GPs and 52 A&E staff, n=142) of the service were asked to complete a questionnaire comprising open and closed questions. Descriptive analysis using parametric and non-parametric tests was carried out, using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 9), on the collected data. Content analysis was used to analyse the open-ended questions. The findings of the study suggest that the A&E LNS positively affects communication between the hospital and GPs, and favourably affects the continuity and quality of patient care. The study respondents strongly supported the provision of an A&E LNS and expressed positive attitudes towards the quality of the service provided. This piece of research provides a basic understanding of the role, function and scope of practice of the A&E liaison nurse specialist. Implications for practice and areas for improvement are also outlined and identified.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin 7, Ireland. mmct@esatclear.ie
authors.forename: Louise Kavanagh
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: McBride
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D005194:Family Practice; D018578:Hospital-Physician Relations; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland; D009738:Nursing Service, Hospital; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000458:organization & administration; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D017749:Total Quality Management