Providing compassionate care to patients waiting on Emergency Department Trolleys: can we do more?

An integrative review of waiting time, queuing, and design as contributory factors to emergency department violence

“…For example, in Jenkins et al's 34 study waiting times did not emerge as an issue, despite the Republic of Ireland having notoriously long ED waiting times. 43 This may be due to the nature of the survey questions and not necessarily a reflection of the absolute reality of the situation. Family expectations were also important and found to be one of the key reasons for violence in two studies 29,30 and patient expectations also feature.…”

Compassion in emergency departments. Part 2: barriers to the provision of compassionate care

“…This is supported by Person et al (2013) who reported that participants expressed concerns about patients on stretchers in the corridors, limited space and issues with equipment and technology. Meanwhile, Timmins et al (2014) reported that emergency nurses attempted to provide compassionate care, but were prevented from doing so due to a lack of basic equipment such as pillows. Other research of patients' experiences of EDs has criticised the care environment, citing uncomfortable trolleys (Gordon et al 2010), while Walsh and Knott (2010) found that patients ranked the cleanliness of the department, the comfort of trolleys and modern equipment as highly important.…”

What's in this issue?

“…We hope that you agree, that the editorials and studies in this issue are thought‐provoking, engaging, stimulating and have provided relevant takeaway messages around the challenges and at times complexities in providing high‐quality, evidence‐based and person‐centred care. The papers have particularly stressed that as professionals, nurses must not become complacent about their knowledge base, their workplace culture and caring values, but must continuously question and re‐examine the evidence that underpins their care, and in answer to Timmins et al (), do a great deal more. It is also clear from this collection, that there are many examples of the ‘little things’ that nurses do for their patients and families, that arguably seem to matter most to those receiving our care.…”

“…In contrast, Timmins et al 's () editorial describes a disturbing situation of an elderly family member spending 4 h on a hospital trolley after admission to a busy emergency department (ED) late one evening. However, when the lady was placed on the trolley there were no pillows provided because apparently there was a shortage as they were often stolen.…”

“…It was only at the request of the relatives that a pillow was made available. What is alarming about this incident, as suggested by Timmins et al (), is the acceptance or ‘acculturation’ by nursing staff and the lack of concern for patient comfort. The point here is that these issues are becoming common place, partly due to workload demands of busy clinicians who maybe weary as a result of organizational inaction and so eventually become acclimatized and accept the situation.…”