Does the presence of general practitioners in emergency departments affect quality and safety in English NHS hospitals? A retrospective observational study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Emergency departments (EDs) in NHS hospitals in England have faced considerable increases in demand over recent years. Most hospitals have developed general practitioner services in emergency departments (GPEDs) to treat non-emergency patients, aiming to relieve pressure on other staff and to improve ED efficiency and patient experience. We measured the impact of GPED services on patient flows, health outcomes and ED workload.

Design

Retrospective observational study. Differences in GPED service availability across EDs and time of day were used to identify the causal effect of GPED, as patients attending the ED at the same hour of the day are quasi-randomly assigned to treatment or control groups based on their local ED's service availability.

Participants

SUBMITTER: Gaughan J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8867306 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature