The government must take action to relieve unprecedented overcrowding in hospital emergency rooms (ER), the Taiwan Society of Emergency Medicine said on Saturday.
The group said in a statement that if the problem worsens it could lead to the resignation of emergency medical workers, which would affect patient safety and healthcare quality, and weaken the nation’s healthcare capacity.
There are too many people in emergency rooms who are not being transferred after being admitted, forcing critically ill people to remain in ERs, the group said.
Photo: CNA
The root cause is insufficient inpatient beds, which could be due to a nursing shortage, forcing hospitals to close off beds or maintain an imbalanced or insufficient allocation of beds, it said.
In the short term, the government could require hospitals to open beds in other departments to more flexibly admit patients when ERs are overcrowded, which would improve the management of beds in intensive care units to ensure reasonable allocation, it said.
Hospitals should also increase the number of emergency medical staff when ERs are overcrowded, which would improve the quality of healthcare and help prevent burnout, it said, adding that hierarchical diagnosis and treatment systems should be better implemented.
Photo: CNA
Long-term solutions include setting up and funding an ER emergency situation response mechanism, so that hospitals can collaborate in solving the problem, the association said.
The government should also consider adjusting the National Health Insurance payment for ER visits to encourage hospitals to admit critically ill patients and ensure their safety, it said.
Other solutions include promoting alternative options for ER hospitalization, such as acute hospital care at home programs or outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy models, it said, adding that the government should also set up a mechanism to monitor the number of available inpatient or ER hospital beds, so it can adjust policies and resource allocation.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) yesterday thanked the Taiwan Society of Emergency Medicine for its suggestions and ER medical personnel for their hard work.
The ministry has gathered local health department officials, representatives of medical centers and physicians’ associations to discuss ER overcrowding, Chiu said.
The ministry has asked hospitals to readjust the proportion of inpatient and ER beds, to hopefully add more ER beds, he said.
However, it would be a challenging task for hospital superintendents, as many people require hospitalization, he said.
The ministry has also asked hospitals to increase ER personnel levels to ease their workload and pressure, while the ministry would continue to work with the National Health Insurance Administration on how to retain ER staff, through better wages or other methods, he said.
Chiu said the ministry and physicians’ associations have been promoting hierarchical diagnosis and treatment systems, encouraging people with mild symptoms of illnesses such as influenza to first seek medical attention at clinics or local hospitals, and go to larger hospitals through referrals.
Additional reporting by CNA
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