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A&E Nurse triage

Story from nhs.uk

"A&E Nurse triage"

About: Doncaster Royal Infirmary

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We attended A&E with my 88 year old mother around 22.30 on 27 July on the advice of the OOH service. My mother had a swollen and hard leg - what appreared to be a DVT. Reception staff were informed that OOH had sent us. We waited a considerable time (around 90 minutes) before we were called to nurse triage. We then returned to wait in the main waiting area. Some 60-90 minutes later we were called to see a doctor who decided that bloods needed to be taken and were told that the results would take 1-2 hours to arrive. We returned to the main waiting area. We eventually were taken thro' into an area (the clinical decision unit?) where my mother was given a bed to sleep in whilst my sister and I sat in chairs at her bedside. We had access to tea and coffee making facilities and, generally, waiting in this area was much better than waiting in the main A&E area. and we appreciated the consideration shown to my elderly mother. The nurse on this unit was attentive, courteous and very helpful for which we are very grateful. We waited for the blood results, my mother received a heparin injection and we eventually left for home at 6.30am on the Sunday morning. We recognised that we would have to wait for attention/treatment in A&E on such a busy night but my issue is that, although we saw a triage nurse, we still had a considerable wait before we saw the doctor. I appreciate that it was not appropriate for the triage nurse to make a diagnosis but, if she had been able to report to the doctor, blood tests might have been done sooner and we wouldn't have been at the hospital all night. There seemed little point in seeing the nurse if she could not take any action. Incidentally, this seemed to be the case for most other people who went into triage. Lastly, is the opportunity to complete a Friends & Family test made routinely available on attendance at A&E. It wasn't mentioned or offered to us.

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Responses

Response from Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 11 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 15/10/2013 at 16:33
Published on Care Opinion at 19:36

Thank you very much for providing this feedback. We appreciate and agree with the point you have made. We introduced high-level triage so patients are seen and assessed as soon as possible after arriving in the Emergency Department. This enables us to stream them appropriately and effectively for their further care.

We are committed to equipping triage with the ability to do bloods and ECG immediately after a patient has been seen, and before they are seen by the doctor, so that decisions can be made sooner rather than later. We're sorry this wasn't in place when your mother visited but hope it reassures you that we do plan to address this.

The Friends & Family Test should have been offered to you and we apologise that this didn't happen. We have been looking at offering people this information when they book into A&E reception, although the survey should be completed after the patient's care has been completed.

There is also a link for people to complete the Friends & Family Test in the 48 hours after leaving hospital via the home page of our website (www.dbh.nhs.uk) and we are keen to ensure that all A&E patients are made aware of this.

We are pleased that you felt the care your mother received on the Clinical Decisions Unit was good and hope that she is making a good recovery.

Response from Doncaster Royal Infirmary 11 years ago
Doncaster Royal Infirmary

Submitted on 18/10/2013 at 11:34
Published on nhs.uk on 19/10/2013 at 04:00

Thank you very much for providing this feedback. We appreciate and agree with the point you have made. We introduced high-level triage so patients are seen and assessed as soon as possible after arriving in the Emergency Department. This enables us to stream them appropriately and effectively for their further care. We are committed to equipping triage with the ability to do bloods and ECG immediately after a patient has been seen, and before they are seen by the doctor, so that decisions can be made sooner rather than later. We're sorry this wasn't in place when your mother visited but hope it reassures you that we do plan to address this. The Friends & Family Test should have been offered to you and we apologise that this didn't happen. We have been looking at offering people this information when they book into A&E reception, although the survey should be completed after the patient's care has been completed. There is also a link for people to complete the Friends & Family Test in the 48 hours after leaving hospital via the home page of our website (www.dbh.nhs.uk) and we are keen to ensure that all A&E patients are made aware of this. We are pleased that you felt the care your mother received on the Clinical Decisions Unit was good and hope that she is making a good recovery.

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