Emergency teams in Danish emergency departments.
BACKGROUND
The use of designated emergency teams for cardiac arrest and trauma patients is widely implemented. However, the use of designated teams in Danish emergency departments (EDs) has not been investigated. Our aim was to investigate the use and staffing of emergency teams in Danish EDs.


METHODS
A cross-sectional questionnaire study was sent to all 20 Danish EDs designated for emergency care.


RESULTS
The response rate was 95% (n = 19). Three EDs were excluded due to incomplete data. All EDs (n = 16) received critically ill patients, cardiac arrests and trauma patients. In all EDs, a designated team responded to cardiac arrest (CAT) and trauma patients (TT). Only 31% of EDs had access to a designated medical emergency team (MET). CAT consisted of a median of six (range 5-10) different personnel groups. Of these, three (1-6) were physicians and only one (0-2) was a senior physician. TTs consisted of a median of nine (7-11) different personnel groups. Of these, four (2-6) were physicians, and three (2-4) were senior physicians. In 25% of the EDs, there was no access to a MET. In 31% of the EDs, an ad hoc-team was created. In 14%, a team was created by the attending emergency physician. The staffing of ad hoc-teams relied on diagnosis, symptoms and triage scores.


CONCLUSIONS
Designated teams for patients in cardiac arrest and trauma patients are available in all Danish EDs. More senior staff form part of trauma teams than cardiac arrest teams. There is limited access to designated teams caring for critically ill medical patients in Danish EDs.
Digtervænget 13, 6800 Varde, Denmark. tlafrenz@dadlnet.dk
Thomas
T
Lafrenz
Søren Østergaard
SØ
Lindberg
Jeppe Lerche
JL
La Cour
Lars
L
Folkestad
Peter
P
Hallas
Mikkel
M
Brabrand
D016638:Critical Illness / Q000628:therapy*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003718:Denmark; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000628:therapy*