NHS urgent and emergency care (UEC) remains under immense and unsustainable pressure. This is increasingly causing harm to patients and emotional trauma to the staff striving to deliver basic standards of care.
Acute Medical Care: “Exit block” Read More
SAMBA18 took place on Thursday 28th June 2018 with follow up data at 7 days.
Acute medical teams from 127 Acute Medical Units (AMUs) across the UK collected data relating to operational performance, clinical quality indicators and standards from NHS Improvement.
Data was collected from 6114 patients.
SAMBA18 Report – A National Audit of Acute Medical Care in the UK Read More
The increased demand for secondary healthcare services has led to overflow in emergency departments and acute medical units throughout the world. And, as all patients therefore cannot be seen at once, most departments have introduced triage by experienced nurses at arrival. Triage is meant to predict time to be seen by a qualified healthcare professional and not – necessarily – to predict outcome.
Risk prediction in acute medical care: the potassium story Read More
Abstract
Background: This study assessed the role of frailty assessment in the AMU.
Methods: Patients were assessed for frailty and their outcomes ascertained at 90 days.
Results: The Canadian Study on Health and Aging Clinical Frailty Scale categorised 29% of patients as moderately-severely frail. Frailty did not differentially identify those likely to be discharged within one day, nor with long stays. Mortality at 90 days was 32%; frailty was associated with the risk of dying, odds ratio 1.4. 21% of patients were readmitted at 30 days, and 33% at 90 days, but frailty was not predictive.
Discussion: Moderate-severe frailty in people aged 70+ was common and was predictive of higher mortality, but did not appear to predict admission, length of stay or readmission.
The Ability of Frailty to Predict Outcomes in Older People Attending an Acute Medical Unit Read More