Article

Characteristics and capabilities of emergency departments in Abuja, Nigeria.

Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, 326 Cambridge Street, Suite 410, Boston, MA 02114, USA; .
Emergency Medicine Journal (impact factor: 1.44). 11/2011; 29(10):798-801. DOI:10.1136/emermed-2011-200695
Source: PubMed

ABSTRACT Emergency departments (ED) are the basic unit of international emergency medicine, but often differ in fundamental features. This study sought to describe and characterise ED in the capital city of Nigeria, Abuja.
All ED open 24 h/day 7 days/week to the general public were surveyed using the national ED inventories survey instrument (http://www.emnet-nedi.org). ED staff were asked about ED characteristics with reference to calendar year 2008.
Twenty-four ED participated (83% response). All were located in hospitals, which ranged in size from six to 250 beds. The majority (92% CI 73% to 100%) had a contiguous layout with medical and surgical care provided in one area. All ED saw both adults and children, with a median of 1500 annual visits (IQR 648-2328). Almost half of respondents (46%; CI 26% to 67%) thought their ED operated under capacity, none thought that their ED was over capacity. Only 4% of ED surveyed had dedicated CT scanners, 25% had cardiac monitoring and none had negative-pressure rooms. There was wide variation in the types of emergencies that were identified as being treatable 24 h/day 7 days/week; these appeared to correlate with ED consultant availability.
Although ED location and layout in Abuja do not differ greatly from that in a typical US city, ED utilisation was lower and fewer resources and capabilities were available. The lack of technological and human resources raise questions about what critical technologies are needed in resource-limited settings, and whether Nigeria should consider training emergency medicine physicians to meet its workforce needs.

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  • Article: National inventory of emergency departments in Singapore.
    Leana S Wen, Anantharaman Venkataraman, Ashley F Sullivan, Carlos A Camargo
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    ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Emergency departments (EDs) are the basic units of emergency care. We performed a national inventory of all Singapore EDs and describe their characteristics and capabilities. METHODS: Singapore EDs accessible to the general public 24/7 were surveyed using the National ED Inventories instrument (www.emnet-nedi.org). ED staff members were asked about ED characteristics with reference to calendar year 2007. RESULTS: Fourteen EDs participated (100% response). All EDs were located in hospitals, and most (92%) were independent departments. One was a psychiatric ED; the rest were general EDs. Among general EDs, all had a contiguous layout, with medical and surgical care provided in one area. All but two EDs saw both adults and children; one ED was adult-only, and the other saw only children. Six were in the public sector and seven in private health-care institutions, with public EDs seeing the majority (78%) of ED patients. Each private ED had an annual patient census of <30,000. These EDs received 2% of ambulances and had an inpatient admission rate of 7%. Each public ED had an annual census of >60,000. They received 98% of ambulances and had an inpatient admission rate of 30%. Two public EDs reported being overcapacity; no private EDs did. For both public and private EDs, availability of consultant resources in EDs was high, while technological resources varied. CONCLUSION: Characteristics and capabilities of Singapore EDs varied and were largely dependent on whether they are in public or private hospitals. This initial inventory establishes a benchmark to further monitor the development of emergency care in Singapore.
    International Journal of Emergency Medicine 10/2012; 5(1):38.
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Keywords

basic unit
 
calendar year 2008
 
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CT scanners
 
ED characteristics
 
ED consultant availability
 
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ED open 24 h/day 7 days/week
 
ED utilisation
 
Emergency departments
 
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human resources
 
international emergency medicine
 
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resource-limited settings
 
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treatable 24 h/day 7 days/week