Waiting time ambulances in the Emergency Department; a Dutch single center study (WAITED study).

ABSTRACT:

Background

Ambulance offload delay (AOD) indicates the persistent and increasingly visible problem of Emergency Department (ED) crowding. AOD is defined as the extended time from ambulance arrival at the ED until patient care is transferred to ED staff. Despite its negative consequences and international attention, AOD is currently not monitored within the Dutch Emergency Care. It is also unknown whether or not AOD is associated with the ambulance diversion (AD) status. In the Dutch ED the AD status is monitored by means of the traffic light system. This study aims to monitor AOD at the EDs of Franciscus Gasthuis & Vlietland (FGV).

Methods

A 10-week observational study was conducted at both the EDs of FGV. Ambulance personnel was queried regarding AOD duration and traffic li

SUBMITTER: Mol S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12661773 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature