TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2005//
TI  - Ambulance diversion is not associated with low acuity patients attending Perth metropolitan emergency departments
JO  - Emergency medicine Australasia
A1  - Sprivulis, Peter C.
A1  - Grainger, Stephen
A1  - Nagree, Yusuf
SP  - 11
EP  - 15
VL  - 17
IS  - 1
N2  - OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between ambulance diversion and low acuity patient (LAP) attendances to EDs. METHODS: Comparison of LAP attendance rates at inner metropolitan EDs and outer metropolitan EDs using a previously validated methodology. RESULTS: The percentage of LAP attendances was lower at inner metropolitan EDs (11.4%, 95% CI 11.3-11.6) compared to outer metropolitan hospitals (22.9%, 95% CI 22.6-23.2, P < 0.001). The proportion of LAP attendances was slightly higher at both inner and outer metropolitan hospitals after-hours compared to working hours. Average daily LAP attendances per inner metropolitan hospital (13.4 attendances, 95% CI 13.2-13.6) which averaged 89.2 min of diversion daily (95% CI 88.7-89.7) were lower than at outer metropolitan hospitals (19.3 attendances, 95% CI 19.0-19.6, P < 0.001), which averaged 12.4 min of diversion daily (95% CI 12.1-12.5, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Inner metropolitan hospitals experience low LAP attendance rates. Attempts to further reduce LAP attendance rates at Perth inner metropolitan hospitals have limited scope to reduce ambulance diversion.<p /> <p>Language: en</p> 
LA  - en
SN  - 1742-6731
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1742-6723.2005.00686.x
ID  - ref1
ER  -