Overload in emergency departments: a significant determinant of healthcare-associated infections
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29352/mill0217e.37954Abstract
We are witnessing a reorganization of health services to adequately respond to the population's healthcare needs. This reorganization is based on a shortage of resources, essentially human resources.
The news tells us that it's difficult to maintain care activity, especially in the emergency services, in some of the most sensitive and needy areas, such as obstetrics, the coronary green lane, the stroke green lane, etc. This means that people sometimes travel hundreds of kilometers to receive the necessary healthcare.
In addition to the risk that care may be delayed, it also means that users end up converging on a smaller number of hospitals, which means that their emergency services have to receive far more people than they are equipped for, both physically and in terms of human resources, which increases the risk to patient safety, as well as that of health professionals.
The National Plan for Patient Safety defines a set of objectives and practices for developing a culture of safety in healthcare, namely training healthcare professionals, evaluating a culture of safety, and improving user and family literacy on this issue, to improve the quality of care provided. These include preventing healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) (Portugal, 2021).
HCAIs are an increasingly topical epidemiological problem not only in wealthier, industrialized societies but also in developing countries, and the hospital infection rate is an indicator of the quality of care provided. Most of the time, HAIs are associated with bad practices and have social and economic consequences for people and institutions, as well as for society in general.
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Geadas, P., Gama, F., Reis, D., Alarico, S., Empadinhas, N., Martins, J., Almeida, A., & Morais, P. (2017). Hospital microbial surface colonization revealed during monitoring of Klebsiella spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and non-tuberculous mycobacteria. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, 110(7),863-876. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10482-017-0857-z
Despacho n.º 9390/2021, do Gabinete do Secretário de Estado Adjunto e da Saúde: Plano Nacional para a Segurança dos Doentes 2021-2026 (2021). Diário da República, 2.ª série — N. º187 — 24 de setembro de 2021. https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/despacho/9390-2021-171891094
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