Quality of care in A and E departments

The Healthcare Commission has published a report on the quality of care in A and E departments. Most patients are happy with the care they receive, the report says, although performance varies. The report finds that patients in some departments are not receiving the recommended standard of care. The media has picked up their comments about patients not receiving pain relief quickly enough, but the report also talks about blood tests being given too soon in suspected paracetamol overdose cases.

Nursing Times (9-15 August 2005) points out that the report praises the increased use of emergency nurse practitioners, and says that they could be even more widely used.

This report is included in the Emergency Care Specialist Library (http://libraries.nelh.nhs.uk/emergency/) of the National Electronic Library for Health. Ask me for details of how to sign up to their current awareness alerts, which sends email notification of new additions to the library (which is how I know it's in there).

Read the Healthcare Commission's press release (with link to the report)
Read about the report in the Guardian