According to a new survey, the chances of death within 30 days of hospital admission increase when the patient has to wait for almost 5 hours to get admitted to the hospital.
5 Hours Of Emergency Care Before Admission Linked To Increased Death
Researchers have analyzed the data of millions of patients to arrive at this number, and they say that the death count increases with additional delay. They have calculated it as one extra death in 82 patients when the waiting time is 6 to 8 hours before admission.
Due to this reason, health authorities always suggest having the least waiting time for patients. When the duration is less than 4 hours waiting time, the deaths are relatively less. Even though hospitals can maintain such standards regularly, they cannot provide the best service in the past two years due to the covid pandemic.
Different factors were considered as part of the study, and the patients were admitted for various illnesses. After considering a variety of patients, the team analyzed the relation between waiting hours in emergency care and death after hospital admission. It was shocking to see that the death rate increased as the waiting time increased before getting hospital admission.
The time of arrival at the hospital also impacted, and most patients arrived in the afternoon period. The waiting time was around 5 hours, which is slightly higher than the expected standards.
When the patients had to wait for more than 6-8 hours before getting admitted to the hospital, the death rate is increased by more than 8% within the next 30 days. In the same manner, when the wait time was in the range of 8-10 hours, it increased the death rate by nearly 10%.
Experts believe that this is a good observational study, and it should help the health authorities improve the service standard of hospitals in the future. However, the study cannot establish the cause and effect as various parameters come into play when such a large population is considered for the study.
Several doctors say that waiting for long hours in emergency care can lead to complications for the patients as every minute is crucial in that stage. When there is a delay in initial treatment, it often leads to complications, leading to a longer stay at the hospital.
This trend was more significant in elderly patients. The waiting time is usually more during the afternoon period as most hospitals are crowded at this time. This can delay access to patients who need hospital admission, and they have to wait for a few hours to get the required tests done.
The situation was also exaggerated due to the pandemic, as most hospitals were filled with Covid patients. Due to this situation, several patients visiting hospitals for other treatments had to wait long hours before getting beds. The current rate of hospitalization in the US is at an all-time high due to the rapid surge of the Omicron variant.
The study brings back to focus important issues related to the procedures required for hospital admissions. All the concerned authorities should work on this and try to reduce the waiting time as much as possible so that it can reduce the mortality rate of patients in the long run.
The anxiety level of patients also goes up when they have to struggle to find a bed during an emergency. To avoid all these issues, the health authorities should prioritize hospital admissions and provide the best service at short notice to ailing patients. This can reduce hospital stay by some duration and reduce the mortality rate.
