(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
Doha: Hamad Medical Corporation's (HMC) Paediatric Emergency Centers (PECs) have introduced a unique clinic to care patients who are stable enough to be discharged from hospital but still require intravenous (IV) medication.
Previously these patients would have been required to stay in the hospital, but the Early Emergency Discharge Clinic (EEDC) allows them to be discharged sooner. The Clinic is benefiting both the PEC and patients by decreasing length of stay and admissions to the hospital, while allowing patients to safely return home more quickly.
'We first introduced the Early Emergency Discharge Clinic, previously known as the Antibiotic Clinic, in 2011 at Al Rayyan PEC to free up beds for more critical cases. The clinic was relocated to Al Sadd PEC in 2016, said Gloria Arrojo, Director of Nursing, PECs.
Since opening, a total of 6,729 patients have been received at the EEDC. Before a child is referred to the EEDC, they must meet certain criteria, including having been born full term or near term (in the case of newborns), have no history of neonatal intensive care unit admission, have stayed a minimum of 12 hours at the PEC's observation room, and have completed two doses of penicillin.
'Other criteria for transferring newborns from the observation room to the EEDC include the patient being clinically stable and their laboratory investigation reports being within the normal range. The patient's family must comply with the discharge plan and return to the clinic either once or twice a day to receive the IV treatments. They must also take the child's temperature every four hours and document those readings, said Arrojo.
She further said that once a patient meets the criteria for the EEDC, their parent or caregiver is provided with instructions, which include health education about their condition and the importance of strict compliance with the treatment regime. They are also provided with instructions on how to care for the child's intravenous cannula (the intravenous cannula is a small plastic tube is inserted into a peripheral vein to administer fluids, medication, and nutrition).
Before a patient is referred to the EEDC, parents must demonstrate that they fully understand the discharge instructions and their responsibilities.
Dr Khalid Al Ansari, Medical Director of Pediatric Emergency Services, said the clinic was created with the aim of safely increasing the availability of beds for sicker patients while maintaining a high standard of care and patient satisfaction. 'It has improved our existing services, decreased the escalating patient to staff ratio, improved overall patient satisfaction and allowed us to accommodate more patients which is a priority due to the country's increasing population. The introduction of the EEDC has also allowed us to spend more quality time with our sickest patients.
There are currently over 80 observation room spaces across the five PECs, which are located in Al Sadd, Old Airport, Al Rayyan, Al Dayeen, and Al Shamal. A team of over120 doctors and 410nurses work round-the-clock across the five PECs.
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