Summary:
Introduction: There is a public expectation that the Emergency Departments (ED)
of the major hospitals in the country, should be able to provide appropriate
and timely care, and at the same time to protect and care for the population of
a community emergency, mass destruction or threats to public health .
Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify the causes
influx of patients in the ED.
Material and Methods: The study population consisted of 1199 cases of the
patients, registered in the patients’ record - books who attended in four
general hospital casualties, at a General State Hospital of Athens, in order to
be examined.
Results: At the top of the list of reasons for seeking medical care are:
abdominal pain with 8,7% (n = 145), cough with 6,66% (n = 111) and thorakalgia
with 6,60% (n = 110), while (43.27%) of patients waited 2-7 days to seek help
on their problem. Most patients 69,9% (n = 839) took medical advice and left,
while 67% (n = 654) of cases were considered minor.
Conclusions: The results found that the majority of patients, make improper use
of ED, resulting in overcrowding, the high latency and delays in care of those
in real need.
Keywords:
Emergency Department, Reasons for patients’ attendance , Overcrowding, Descriptive study, Improper use
