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94

ing. This is also applicable to how well confidentiality andrivacy of people who present to the ED for treatment isaintained.The nature of the ED changes many practices that would

e considered usual and expected in other units. Nowherelse is there such traffic of patients, visitors, health profes-ionals and other associated people who have direct accesso patient treatment areas. Due to the nature of the environ-ent, visibility and easy access of all patients for as much

f the time as possible is a valued safety strategy. Whileespecting these principles and patient rights is an impor-ant aspect of care, upholding confidentially and privacy inhe ED is far more problematic than in other clinical settings.

This presentation identifies issues encountered withatient privacy and confidentiality in one ED environment.project was developed at The Townsville Hospital ED to

mprove patient confidentiality and privacy and identify howhis consideration can be best facilitated in the ED. This pre-entation will report on the results, challenges encounterednd the patient outcomes that were targeted by staff in thisusy ED.

eywords: Patient privacy; Confidentiality; Emergencyepartment

oi:10.1016/j.aenj.2007.09.015

id we listen to what the Coroner said?

manda Charles

Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, Melbourne, VIC,ustralia

Clinical Liaison Service highlighted over 2 years ago thatnformation about patient deaths reported to the State Coro-er’s Office is under-utilised in health care. Over the lastyears, the Clinical Liaison Service is utilising a range of

trategies to disseminate this information to relevant healthare providers. The strategies are designed to meet theeeds of the different stakeholders and include; face toace presentation, open days, newsletters participation inommittee meetings and site visits.

The range of health care providers is diverse and includesictorian Quality and Risk Management Group, undergrad-ate and postgraduate medical, nursing and allied healthtudents, and specialty colleges.

This presentation will reflect on the success and lim-tations of the different strategies with each of thetakeholders and will use case studies to demonstrate how

nformation is disseminated, considered and used to changeractice. This will answer the question as to whether we areistening to what the coroner said.

oi:10.1016/j.aenj.2007.09.016

grindaeutei

Abstracts

ffect of a fast track service on emergency departmenterformance and patient flow

ulie Considine1,2, Matthew Kropman1,∗, Erin Kelly1,∗,raig Winter1

Emergency Department, The Northern Hospital, Epping,IC, AustraliaDeakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Fast-track systems in EDs aim to reduce waiting timesnd ED length of stay for patients with non-urgent com-laints in a dedicated area staffed by senior ED medicalnd nursing staff. Most of the published outcomes fromast-track models are from the UK ED context and there isnly one published study to date from Australia. The aim ofhis study is to evaluate the effect of a fast track servicen emergency department performance and patient flow.his study will be the first study in the Australian ED con-ext to use a case control design. Cases will be randomlyelected from patients triaged to ED fast-track in during aeriod in early-mid 2007. Historical controls will be selectedrom patients who presented in the 6 months prior to imple-entation of ED fast-track (June—November 2006). Controlsill be matched to cases by age, gender and ED dischargeiagnosis.

The following data will be collected: clinical datapatient age, gender, ED discharge diagnosis, time to spe-ific management, for example analgesia, antibiotics and-rays); ED system data (patient flow: waiting time, treat-ent time, ED length of stay and patient disposal; and

dverse events (unplanned ED representations within 48 h,issed fractures, patient complaints, number of patients

eaving prior to treatment). Waiting time and ED length oftay for other non-admitted patients who are not triaged toast track will be examined to ensure that ED fast-track doesot compromise the care of other ED patients. This paperill present the study findings and examine the implicationsf fast-track models of care for emergency departments.

eywords: Emergency department; Fast-track; Models ofare

oi:10.1016/j.aenj.2007.09.017

isaster preparedness of emergency nurses

ulie Considine1,2, Belinda Mitchell 1

Emergency Department, The Northern Hospital, Epping,IC, AustraliaDeakin University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Little is known about the disaster preparedness of emer-ency nurses and the capacity of emergency nurses toespond to a disaster. Given the high number of femalesn the workforce, it is reasonable to assume that a largeumber of nurses have carer responsibilities, either for chil-ren or elders. There are many contingencies written thatre commonly written into hospital disaster manuals, how-

ver, the actual feasibility of many of these strategies isnknown. The aim of this study is to explore issues relatedo disaster preparedness of emergency nurses, specificallymergency nurses’ perspectives related to chemical, biolog-cal and radiological incidents and the effect of extraneous