Assessment of the Preparedness and Planning of Academic Emergency Departments in India During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multicentric Survey

Gopinathan, Vivek; Kunju, Sanjan Asanaru; S, Vimal Krishnan; Sirur, Freston Marc; Balakrishnan, Jayaraj Mymbilly

doi:10.1017/dmp.2021.73

Cited by 5 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…One could speculate that some of the differences we observed in our study such as need for additional workers form outside the normal recruitment zones reflect differences in EPC sizes rather than in pandemic preparedness and willingness to adapt. A study from 2021 [ 46 ] looked at preparedness in academic emergency departments in India before the COVID-19 pandemic and concluded that pandemic preparedness needs to be assessed according to local needs and available resources. This could support our reasoning with respect to the observed differences between differently sized EPCs in Norway.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preparedness and management during the first phase of the COVID-19 outbreak - a survey among emergency primary care services in Norway

Dale

Morken

Eliassen

et al. 2022

BMC Health Serv Res

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Background The emergency primary care (EPC) services in Norway have been at the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic. Knowledge about the EPC services’ management of the COVID-19 outbreak can be used to prepare for future outbreaks and improve patient management. The objectives of this study were to identify pandemic preparedness and management strategies in EPC centres in Norway during the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods Questions regarding patient management of the COVID-19 outbreak were included in data collection for the National Out-Of-Hours Services Registry. The data collection was web-based, and an invitation was sent by email to the managers of all EPC services in Norway in June 2020. The EPC services were asked questions about pre-pandemic preparedness, access to personal protective equipment (PPE), organizational measures taken, and how staffing was organized during the onset of the pandemic. Results There were 169 municipal and inter-municipal EPC services in Norway in 2020, and all responded to the questionnaire. Among the EPC services, 66.7% (n = 112) had a pandemic plan, but only 4.2% had performed training for pandemic preparedness. Further, fewer than half of the EPC centres (47.5%) had access to supplies of PPE, and 92.8% answered that they needed extra supplies of PPE. 75.3% of the EPC services established one or more respiratory clinics. Staffing with other personnel than usual was done in 44.6% (n = 74) of the EPC services. All EPC services except one implemented new strategies for assessing patients, while about half of the wards implemented new strategies for responding to emergency calls. None of the largest EPC services experienced that their pandemic plan was adequate, while 13.3% of the medium-sized EPC services and 48.9% of the small EPC services reported having an adequate pandemic plan. Conclusions Even though the EPC services lacked well-tested plans and had insufficient supplies of PPE at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, most services adapted to the pandemic by altering the ways they worked and by hiring health care professionals from other disciplines. These observations may help decision makers plan for future pandemics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preparedness and management during the first phase of the COVID-19 outbreak - a survey among emergency primary care services in Norway

Dale

Morken

Eliassen

et al. 2022

BMC Health Serv Res

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“…The authors stated that an individualized coping strategy for each ED which considers baseline needs and available resources is superior to a blanket strategy applied to all EDs. Although this claim seems sensible, evidence is scant [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preparations of Dutch emergency departments for the COVID-19 pandemic: A questionnaire-based study

2021

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Background The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was characterized by rapid increases in Emergency department (ED) patient visits. EDs required an appropriate transformation. The main challenges were: adapting capacity to respond to surges in the number of patient visits, protection of high risk (frontline) staff and the segregation of suspect-COVID-19 patients. To date, only a few studies have assessed the nation-wide response of EDs to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study was designed to review the preparations of Dutch EDs during the initial phase of this public health crisis. Methods The study was designed as a nation-wide, cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study of Dutch hospital organizations having one or more EDs. One respondent completed the questionnaire for each hospital. The questionnaire was conducted between the first and the second COVID-19 wave in the Netherlands. It contained close-ended and open-ended questions on changes in ED infrastructure, ED workforce adaptions and the role of emergency physicians (EPs) in each hospital crisis management team. Results The questionnaire was completed by 58 respondents. This represented 80% of the total number of EDs. All respondents had made preparations in anticipation of a COVID-19 patient surge. Treatment capacity was expanded in 70% of EDs, with a median increase of 49% (IQR 33–73%). Suspect-COVID-19 was segregated from non-COVID-19 patients in 89% of EDs. Alternative locations (such as outpatient departments) were more often used to assess non-COVID-19 patients, than for suspect-COVID-19 patients. Staff was expanded in 82% of EDs. This largely concerned nursing staff. A formal role for Emergency Physicians (EPs) in the hospital’s crisis management team was reported by 94% of hospital organizations employing EPs. Conclusion All Dutch EDs responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in a very short time span despite much uncertainty. Preparations predominantly concerned expansion of treatment capacity and segregation of COVID-19 ED care. EPs played a prominent role, both in direct COVID-19 care and in the hospital crises management team. It is vital for EDs to adapt to community needs swiftly. The ability of EDs to respond to the pandemic varied considerably.

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“…The authors stated that an individualized strategy for ED preparedness that considers baseline needs and available resources is superior to a blanket strategy for all EDs. 13…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preparations of Dutch emergency departments for the COVID-19 pandemic: a questionnaire-based study

Connor

Barten

Latten

2021

Preprint

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Background: The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was characterized by rapidly increasing patient volumes, which necessitated a swift emergency department (ED) overhaul. Challenges mainly concerned surge capacity, frontline staff protection and the segregation of patients with suspected COVID-19. To date, only few studies have assessed nation-wide ED preparedness for the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to form an overview of preparations that were taken in Dutch EDs during the initial phase of this public health crisis. Methods: This study was designed as a nation-wide, cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study among Dutch hospital organizations with an ED. The questionnaire was conducted between the first and the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands and contained close-ended and open-ended questions on changes in ED infrastructure, ED workforce adaptions and the role of emergency physicians (EPs) in the hospital crisis organizations. Results: Overall response rate was 79.5%. All EDs had made preparations in anticipation of a possible COVID-19 surge. Treatment capacity was expanded in 69.7% of EDs, with a median increase of 49% (IQR 32.5-72.7%). COVID-19 suspected patients were segregated from non-COVID-19 patients in 86.4% of EDs. Non-COVID-19 patients were more often assessed at alternative locations than patients with suspected COVID-19 infection. In 81.8% of EDs the workforce was expanded, which mainly concerned expansion of nursing staff. A formal role of EPs in the hospital crisis organizations was reported by 93.9% of EP staffed hospital organizations. Conclusion: All Dutch EDs made preparations for COVID-19 in a short time span and with many uncertainties. Preparations predominantly concerned expansion of treatment capacity and segregation of COVID-19 ED care. EPs had a prominent role, both in direct patient COVID-19 ED care and in the hospital crisis organizations. Although it is vital for EDs to be able to dynamically adapt to community needs, variability of pandemic ED preparedness was high.

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Assessment of the Preparedness and Planning of Academic Emergency Departments in India During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multicentric Survey

Cited by 5 publications

References 26 publications

Preparedness and management during the first phase of the COVID-19 outbreak - a survey among emergency primary care services in Norway

Preparedness and management during the first phase of the COVID-19 outbreak - a survey among emergency primary care services in Norway

Preparations of Dutch emergency departments for the COVID-19 pandemic: A questionnaire-based study

Preparations of Dutch emergency departments for the COVID-19 pandemic: a questionnaire-based study

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