Patient Experience in the Accident & Emergency Department
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Patient Experience in the Accident & Emergency Department
IRAS ID
174514
Contact name
Naomi J Tod
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 0 months, 22 days
Research summary
Accident and Emergency (A&E) Departments play a crucial role in providing acute and emergency medical care to patients around the clock, seeing a diverse patient group requiring a wide spectrum of treatment on a daily basis. However with the number of patients attending departments in Scotland continuing to raise and government targets focusing on reducing waiting times, the pressures and demands on this service are growing. Therefore this project aims to determine whether a stretched department trying to meet such expectations, is doing so to the detriment of patient care and satisfaction.
The Aberdeen Royal Infirmary runs a busy A&E department, seeing an average of over 5000 patients per month. The study aims to recruit 50 patients who are being seen in the majors or resuscitation areas of the department over a three week period, to establish whether they are happy with the quality of their care but also the efficiency & compassion with which it is delivered. Participants will be required to complete a validated questionnaire once they have been admitted to the department for 30 minutes and undergone a full assessment by a doctor from the medical team. This has been based on a Care Quality Commission questionnaire and will gather quantitative data about many aspects of the patient journey, for example admission pathway, pain management, waiting times, patient care. This will be supplemented where possible with qualitative feedback obtained through recorded short semi-structured interviews.
Using this data, the study aims to draw conclusions about the overall patient experience in the department and perception of the department’s performance, alongside identifying negative and positive factors which may contribute to inconsistencies in care. By identifying such things, the study aims to illustrate areas of care which are provided to a high level, as well as highlighting opportunities for the department to improve patient care.
REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 1
REC reference
15/NS/0046
Date of REC Opinion
21 Jul 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion