Reasons why patients with primary health care problems access a secondary hospital emergency centre

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dc.contributor.authorBecker, Juanita
dc.contributor.authorDell, Angela
dc.contributor.authorJenkins, Louis
dc.contributor.authorSayed, Rauf
dc.date.accessioned2021-10-08T07:18:00Z
dc.date.available2021-10-08T07:18:00Z
dc.date.issued2012
dc.description.abstractBACKGROUND: Many patients present to an emergency centre (EC) with problems that could be managed at primary healthcare (PHC) level. This has been noted at George Provincial Hospital in the Western Cape province of South Africa. AIM: In order to improve service delivery, we aimed to determine the patient-specific reasons for accessing the hospital EC with PHC problems. METHODS: A descriptive study using a validated questionnaire to determine reasons for accessing the EC was conducted among 277 patients who were triaged as green (routine care), using the South African Triage Score. The duration of the complaint, referral source and appropriateness of referral were recorded. RESULTS: Of the cases 88.2% were self-referred and 30.2% had complaints persisting for more than a month. Only 4.7% of self-referred green cases were appropriate for the EC. The three most common reasons for attending the EC were that the clinic medicine was not helping (27.5%), a perception that the treatment at the hospital is superior (23.7%), and that there was no PHC service after-hours (22%). CONCLUSIONS: Increased acceptability of the PHC services is needed. The current triage system must be adapted to allow channelling of PHC patients to the appropriate level of care. Strict referral guidelines are needed.
dc.identifier.apacitationBecker, J., Dell, A., Jenkins, L., & Sayed, R. (2012). Reasons why patients with primary health care problems access a secondary hospital emergency centre. <i>South African Medical Journal</i>, 102(10), 800 - 177. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34882en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationBecker, Juanita, Angela Dell, Louis Jenkins, and Rauf Sayed "Reasons why patients with primary health care problems access a secondary hospital emergency centre." <i>South African Medical Journal</i> 102, 10. (2012): 800 - 177. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34882en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationBecker, J., Dell, A., Jenkins, L. & Sayed, R. 2012. Reasons why patients with primary health care problems access a secondary hospital emergency centre. <i>South African Medical Journal.</i> 102(10):800 - 177. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34882en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0038-2469
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Becker, Juanita AU - Dell, Angela AU - Jenkins, Louis AU - Sayed, Rauf AB - BACKGROUND: Many patients present to an emergency centre (EC) with problems that could be managed at primary healthcare (PHC) level. This has been noted at George Provincial Hospital in the Western Cape province of South Africa. AIM: In order to improve service delivery, we aimed to determine the patient-specific reasons for accessing the hospital EC with PHC problems. METHODS: A descriptive study using a validated questionnaire to determine reasons for accessing the EC was conducted among 277 patients who were triaged as green (routine care), using the South African Triage Score. The duration of the complaint, referral source and appropriateness of referral were recorded. RESULTS: Of the cases 88.2% were self-referred and 30.2% had complaints persisting for more than a month. Only 4.7% of self-referred green cases were appropriate for the EC. The three most common reasons for attending the EC were that the clinic medicine was not helping (27.5%), a perception that the treatment at the hospital is superior (23.7%), and that there was no PHC service after-hours (22%). CONCLUSIONS: Increased acceptability of the PHC services is needed. The current triage system must be adapted to allow channelling of PHC patients to the appropriate level of care. Strict referral guidelines are needed. DA - 2012 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town IS - 10 J1 - South African Medical Journal LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2012 SM - 0038-2469 T1 - Reasons why patients with primary health care problems access a secondary hospital emergency centre TI - Reasons why patients with primary health care problems access a secondary hospital emergency centre UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34882 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/34882
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationBecker J, Dell A, Jenkins L, Sayed R. Reasons why patients with primary health care problems access a secondary hospital emergency centre. South African Medical Journal. 2012;102(10):800 - 177. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/34882.en_ZA
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Public Health and Family Medicine
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciences
dc.sourceSouth African Medical Journal
dc.source.journalissue10
dc.source.journalvolume102
dc.source.pagination800 - 177
dc.source.urihttps://dx.doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.6059
dc.subject.otherAdult
dc.subject.otherAmbulatory Care
dc.subject.otherEmergency Medical Services
dc.subject.otherEmergency Service, Hospital
dc.subject.otherFemale
dc.subject.otherHealth Services Accessibility
dc.subject.otherHumans
dc.subject.otherMale
dc.subject.otherPatient Acceptance of Health Care
dc.subject.otherPrimary Health Care
dc.subject.otherSouth Africa
dc.titleReasons why patients with primary health care problems access a secondary hospital emergency centre
dc.typeJournal Article
uct.type.publicationResearch
uct.type.resourceJournal Article
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