An Analysis of Daily Emergency Department Surge and its Relevance to Disaster Preparedness

Introduction: Daily emergency department surges can cause crowding in facilities that do not have adequate physical and personnel resources to meet peak demands. The mismatch between surge and surge capacity results in ED crowding, thus indicating compromised daily ED capacity. This study aimed to analyze the daily ED visits and the relevance of this data in disaster preparedness at the Qassim hospital in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This retrospective analytic study was conducted in the central hospitals of Buraidah City, including King Fahad Specialist Hospital (KFSH), Buraidah Central Hospital (BCH), and Maternity and Children’s Hospital (MCH) in Saudi Arabia. Data were collected from January ۲۰۱۷ to December ۲۰۱۸ using a specially designed data collection form. ED visit information such as visits per month, and per day, were collected. Results: During the study period, ۳۱۱۸۰۵ patients visited the King Fahad Specialist Hospital ED, ۱۳۱۰۷۱ patients visited the Maternity and Children’s Hospital ED, and ۲۸۴۶۹۳ patients visited the Buraida Central Hospital ED. The highest number of visits per month in ۲۰۱۷ was recorded at KFSH with ۱۸,۸۴۹ patients, while in ۲۰۱۸, it was at BCH with ۱۱,۹۸۳ patients. The mean number of ED visits per day and month was significantly different between the three hospitals in ۲۰۱۷ and ۲۰۱۸ (P <.۰۰۱). A significant association was noted between visits per time of day and hospitals in ۲۰۱۸ (P <.۰۰۰۱). Conclusion: This study suggests that overcrowding investigated during the selected period occurred less in ۲۰۱۸ compared to ۲۰۱۷ in KFSH due to a strict triage initiative. However, the problem of patient overcrowding in MCH and BCH still needs to be addressed.

Keywords:

surge , Emergency Department , disaster , Hospitals , Emergency care , Surge Capacity , triage