Worked the night shift last night and it was fairly uneventful, except for the massive initial volume. Our ED (emergency department) and hospital has been busting at the seams for the last 4-5 days. There is neither rhyme nor reason as to why. The weather is better. Flu season has passed. Is there something in the water that gives every person over the age of 70 abdominal pains at the same time? That was the theme of the night; abdominal pain. Runner up was back pain, and third young women with urinary tract infections.
The wait times for people were long. Patients who walked in at 730pm were not being seen until midnight. Of course there are many reasons for this, but the main one is that the hospital was full. When the hospital is full, then patients who are admitted from the ED, have no place to go. They have to stay in the ED. Now remember, my ED is pretty big, we have about 46 beds, but at one point we were holding half that many admitted patients. Those patients take up space and thus the waiting area (aka lobby) gets backed up. The only good thing is that generally people are patient and understanding, especially when they see how hard the staff is working. Those are my thoughts for now. I am sure in the future Emergency Department Overcrowding will be a regular topic of discussion as it relates to staffing issues, patient satisfaction, burnout, etc.