NURSES at the state hospitals’ Accidents and Emergency (A&E) units yesterday stopped triaging patients to protest the ‘chaotic’ way in which the departments operate.
They said the main reason for this mayhem was the large number of patients that arrive at A&E, most times with conditions that don’t demand urgent medical attention.
Nurses also claimed they were not properly trained to triage patients – the process of assessing who has priority and is in the most urgent need for medical attention – and decided to stop doing so until the Health Ministry intervenes to sort the situation.
But doctors responded that it is part of the nursing staff’s duty to triage patients and nobody has the right to alter hospital procedures.
Both sides agree that the huge crowds need to be diminished and have demanded a meeting with the ministry to iron out their issues.
George Flourenzos, the head of the Nursing Council, put special emphasis to the huge crowds of people that arrive at A&E and stressed that the Health Ministry had to do something about it.
“It all starts from the way these departments are operating,” said Flourenzos. “This is mainly due to the huge crowds that arrive and demand to be serviced by these departments, without these departments having the ability and sometimes the capability to deal with it.”
He added that lack of experience and expertise made the situation worse for some nurses.
“A nurse who hasn’t specialised on specific matters is being given the responsibility of making the decision of which patient has priority to enter the unit and be treated. If God forbid something happens and a patient dies before entering the unit, who is responsible for that? Who will take on that responsibility?” Flourenzos wondered.
So who decides? “This can be done by an experienced nurse or a doctor,” Flourenzos explained, adding: “provided that things and protocols are operating smoothly. When things aren’t operating smoothly in the unit and everything is overcharged and overused, everything goes out of the window. What remains is the shouting, the abuse and the assaults, because everyone wants to go in and be serviced.”
But the head of Government Doctors’ union PASYKI, Dr Stavros Stavrou, pointed out that the process of triaging was the same all over the world, with nurses assessing and prioritising patients. This, said Stavrou, was how it should be done here as well; if the situation isn’t sorted soon, he added, the patients would end up paying the price as usual.
“[The nursing staff] doesn’t have to provide medical services; they just make an assessment and inform the doctor on who has priority, so we don’t have a serious incident being delayed,” said Stavrou. “You don’t need expert knowledge, this is established internationally.”
He added, “The problem in the A&E departments is that due to the increase in people who arrive there, because people have financial problems and due to the fact that many come here without reason, this prevents those who are in urgent need of medical help from receiving the necessary attention.
“We need to sit down with the ministry and see what can be done. This is not a legal matter; it concerns offering patients the treatment they need.”
Stavrou suggested that minor incidents should be treated in out-patient clinics or other medical centres; this, he said, could only be done with a proper informative campaign aimed at sensitising the public on the matter.
“We all need to get our heads together because triaging is established internationally. In fact, from what I know, doctors and nurses are trained on how to triage,” said Stavrou.
