Clearing emergency departments and clogging wards: National Emergency Access Target and the law of unintended consequences

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess ED length of stay (EDLOS), access block, inpatient length of stay (IPLOS) and waiting times before and after the implementation of the National Emergency Access Target (NEAT). METHODS: This was designed as a retrospective cohort study and data was collected from electronic patient management systems. The control group represented all emergency presentations between June 2011 and September 2011, 1 year prior to the introduction of NEAT. The study groups were assessed and included all ED presentations between June and September 2012 and 2013 respectively. Main outcome measures were waiting times, EDLOS, proportion of patients cleared from the ED within NEAT goals, hospital..