internal waiting room

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

Anybody have these in your ED? Management has decided that the ED times are too long. They have hired a consultant who has implemented an internal waiting room. The idea is when beds are full, we take the patients who really don't need to be on a gurney and put them in our new internal waiting room, opening up those beds, and finish treatments and discharge there. We do have a quick medical exam/fast track area as well. Has anyone worked in an a hospital that does this? What concerns most of the staff is the new internal waiting room is one of our larger monitored beds.

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Specializes in ED, ICU, PACU.

Is it just me that feels this way, or is it starting to seem like the ER is mimicking the cattle herding industry? Pretty soon, I think, a consultant will come up with a brilliant idea of branding the patient's MR# on their behinds to facilitate double identification.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

That was our concrn as well, we are going "live" on Monday but have already started trying it, and the two patients it was tried on they seemed very iritated, as they have been put in an exam room, then to xray, back to the exam room, then told to get dressed and wait in our new internal waiting room. The way they are getting around HIPPA is by posting signs in the room stating that if you are concerned about your privacy then you are welcomed to wait in the waiting room

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Specializes in Emergency Dept, M/S.

When our ED is insanely busy, like during cold and flu season, we have often treated people in "chairs" in different areas of our ED. We have several of these areas in our ED (it's big, around 60 beds). It's not private, but some things, like fast track type of patients needing sutures don't necesarily need a bed. I don't like the idea much, because of lack of privacy and such, and it is sort of like herding cattle, but there isn't much else we can do sometimes.

I still wonder why 90% of these people don't stop at one of the 4 Urgent Care centers they need to pass on the way into our ED! lol

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Specializes in Med-Surg, ER.
I still wonder why 90% of these people don't stop at one of the 4 Urgent Care centers they need to pass on the way into our ED! lol

You really wonder why? It's because "the ED is free, but those urgent care clinics expect you to pay."

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Specializes in Emergency Dept, M/S.
You really wonder why? It's because "the ED is free, but those urgent care clinics expect you to pay."

Nope, I knew that - I was being sarcastic. These people would rather wait 8 hours to see a doc for a cold, rather than 30 minutes at an Urgen Care. Plus our ED has a free food service cart, so that brings a lot of them in!

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Specializes in Med-Surg, ER.
Nope, I knew that - I was being sarcastic. These people would rather wait 8 hours to see a doc for a cold, rather than 30 minutes at an Urgen Care. Plus our ED has a free food service cart, so that brings a lot of them in!

I knew you knew that. ;-)

You left out the part where they come up to the window every ten minutes asking how much longer it's going to be and complaining that they've been there longer than all those other people who have been going straight back.

Free food service? In the waiting room? How do you keep people from eating while they wait to be seen for what you know is a surgical condition?

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Specializes in Emergency Dept, M/S.
I knew you knew that. ;-)

You left out the part where they come up to the window every ten minutes asking how much longer it's going to be and complaining that they've been there longer than all those other people who have been going straight back.

Free food service? In the waiting room? How do you keep people from eating while they wait to be seen for what you know is a surgical condition?

The food service service worker has a little "speech" she must give each time it is wheeled into the ED waiting area, about 3 times a shift. She says if the person is there for any abd pain or been told by the triage nurse NOT to eat, she is not allowed to serve them. For the most part, it works. Most of the people eating are the people that come with the patients, and of course, the oodles of kids everyone brings in with them! But the server also tells them they are limited to 2 items. It's pretty healthy stuff too, like fresh fruit, small juices, crackers, etc. There is also coffee (really bad) and the 6oz sodas.

Yeah, I hated doing triage when it was busy during flu season. People would be POUNDING on the triage room door demanding to be seen for their hangnail and getting PO'd because the guy with MI sx and the one in DKA or miscarrying woman was seen before them. Sheesh!

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that was our concrn as well, we are going "live" on monday but have already started trying it, and the two patients it was tried on they seemed very iritated, as they have been put in an exam room, then to xray, back to the exam room, then told to get dressed and wait in our new internal waiting room. the way they are getting around hippa is by posting signs in the room stating that if you are concerned about your privacy then you are welcomed to wait in the waiting room

if they have minor complaint i see nothing wrong with them waiting in another designated area. people are going to complain no matter what these days. everyone seems to have this "service" idea and feel they are more important than anyone else. if they came in with an esi of 4,5...they shouldn't be in the er anyway in my mind. it's too bad we can't educate them

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Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.
What concerns most of the staff is the new internal waiting room is one of our larger monitored beds.

Now this is a problem, and a systemic/community problem at that ... if you've now decreased the capacity of the ER to handle cardiac monitoring in order to increase space to handle bull****. :stone

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Specializes in ED, PCU, Addiction, Home Health.

Wow - they paid a consultant to come up with the "internal waiting room" concept? Heck, I've seen it done for free in numerous ERs.........it's called the HALLWAY!

Seems to be the favorite location for crazed charge nurses to start throwing patients. My favorite, though, is "send them to the waiting room on a transport monitor so we can still watch them." Sure, let's err on the side of proving that's a bad idea when they do have a dysrhythmia in the waiting room after 2 to 3 hours.

Besides the obvious safety concerns, etc.........the scheduled number of doctors and nurses remain the same regardless of what ER orifice you start shoving patients into. :saint:

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Specializes in Emergency Dept, M/S.
if they came in with an esi of 4,5...they shouldn't be in the er anyway in my mind. it's too bad we can't educate them

exactly!! i don't think people can equate the "e" in "ed" with "emergency"!! since when did a cold with 100 degree fever in an otherwise healthy 32 yo man become an emergency?? lol

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