Measuring performance of night-time interfacility transport service.
The service reorganization is a part of the healthcare system reform. Some hospitals may not be able to provide all services in a 24-h basis. This evaluation was on all night-time (22 : 00 p.m. to 07 : 00 a.m.) interfacility transport by Alice Ho Miu Ling Hospital emergency department from January 2008 to December 2010, which were in-patients from nonemergency wards. The safety, speed, and performance were analyzed. During the study period, 73 cases were transferred out. Majority of them were having neurosurgical emergency (n=21, 29%) or surgical emergency (n=34, 46%). En-route physiological deteriorations were encountered in 4% (3/73) of cases. The mean acceptance time was 8 min and the team mobilization time was 13 min on average. The total service time ranged from 40 to 115 min. In conclusion, en-route adverse event was not rare. The specialized team can act as a facilitator and coordinator to improve the safety and effectiveness of the whole process.
Emergency Department, Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital (AHNH), Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR. hyy863@ha.org.hk
Yuet Yum
YY
Hui
Wendy Yat Lan
WY
Lo
Larry Lap Yip
LL
Lee
Jimmy Tak Shing
JT
Chan
Simon Yiu Hang
SY
Tang
Edward
E
Kalinowski
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016638:Critical Illness; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011361:Professional Competence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013995:Time; D014187:Transportation of Patients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult