Emergency Department Waiting Times and Determinants of Prolonged Length of Stay in a Botswana Referral Hospital - Open Journal of Emergency Medicine

OJEM > Vol.8 No.3, September 2020

Open Journal of Emergency Medicine

Volume 8, Issue 3 (September 2020)

ISSN Print: 2332-1806 ISSN Online: 2332-1814

Google-based Impact Factor: 0.5 Citations

Emergency Department Waiting Times and Determinants of Prolonged Length of Stay in a Botswana Referral Hospital ()

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Download as PDF (Size: 348KB) PP. 59-70

DOI: 10.4236/ojem.2020.83007 1,366 Downloads 6,011 Views Citations

Author(s)

Keatlaretse Siamisang^1,2*, John Thato Tlhakanelo¹, Bonolo Bonnie Mhaladi²

Affiliation(s)

¹University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana.
²Botswana Ministry of Health and Wellness, Gaborone, Botswana.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Emergency medicine is a critical component of quality public health service. In fact length of stay and waiting times in the Emergency department are key indicators of quality. The aim of this study was to determine waiting times and determinants of prolonged length of stay (LOS) in the Princess Marina Hospital Emergency Department. Methods: This was a retrospective observational study. It was done at Princess Marina, a referral hospital in Gaborone, Botswana. Triage forms of patients who presented between 19/11/ 2018 and 18/12/2018 were reviewed. Data from patient files was used to determine time duration from triage to being reviewed by a doctor, time duration from review by emergency doctor to patients’ disposition and the time duration from patient’s triage to disposition (length of stay). Prolonged length of stay was defined as duration > 6 hours. Results: A total of 1052 files repre- senting patients seen over a 1-month period were reviewed. 72.5% of the patients had a prolonged length of stay. The median emergency doctor waiting time was 4.5 hours (IQR 1.6 - 8.3 hours) and the maximum was 27.1 hours. The median length of stay in the emergency department was 9.6 hours (IQR 5.8 - 14.6 hours) and the maximum was 45.9 hours. Patient’s age (AOR 1.01), mental status (AOR 0.61), admission to internal medicine service (AOR 5.12) and pediatrics admissions (AOR 0.11) were significant predictors of prolonged length of stay in the emergency department. Conclusion: Princess Marina Hospital emergency department waiting times and length of stay are long. Age, normal mental status and internal medicine admission were independent predictors of prolonged stay (>6 hours). Admission to the pediatrics service was associated with shorter length of stay. There is a need for interventions to address the long waiting times and length of stay. Interventions should particularly focus on the identified predictors.

KEYWORDS

Emergency Department, Waiting Times, Prolonged Length of Stay, Determinants

Share and Cite:

Siamisang, K. , Tlhakanelo, J. and Mhaladi, B. (2020) Emergency Department Waiting Times and Determinants of Prolonged Length of Stay in a Botswana Referral Hospital. Open Journal of Emergency Medicine, 8, 59-70. doi: 10.4236/ojem.2020.83007.

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