The duration of care for a patient in the emergency room varies between 1 and 2 hours depending on the seriousness of the situation, provides a study by Dress.
A study of the Drees, the statistical division of the government, carried out in 738 hospital emergency structures in France, revealed that in seven out of ten cases, patients wait less than an hour before being taken care of in the emergency room. But this period, as well as the duration of treatment, depend mainly on the reason for consultation.
Of course, the assumption of responsibility is done more quickly than the condition of the person is considered serious. Priority treatment is therefore given to people with a life-threatening prognosis, those who have difficulty breathing, chest pain (the first sign of myocardial infarction) or neurological symptoms that may herald a stroke (paralyzed face, inertia of the arm. speech disorders).
These patients are more likely than others to be treated within half an hour of arriving at the emergency room. Having been brought to the emergency room by firefighters or a team from the Smur (mobile emergency and resuscitation service) also increases the chances of rapid treatment (87% within an hour).
Source: Drees
Interventions of varying length
Half of the patients who are neither admitted to a short-term hospitalization unit (UHCD), nor hospitalized following their visit to the emergency room, stay less than 112 minutes (time between registration and discharge from the emergency room).
However, the durations of treatment differ greatly depending on the technical elements of the care. For example, one in two patients who come only for a consultation, stays less than 74 minutes. When the consultation is accompanied by an act of care such as the installation of dressings or stitches, the average duration remains the same to within a few minutes.
On the other hand, if the act of care requires a clinical examination in order to establish a diagnosis (x-ray, electrocardiogram), the duration lengthens by about twenty minutes. When it comes to a more in-depth examination, such as a biopsy, the time spent in the emergency room can exceed 168 minutes, or an hour and a half more than the simple consultation.
Source: Drees
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