Pre-hospital emergency nurse specialist’s experiences in caring for patients with non-specific chief complaints in the ambulance – A qualitative interview study

BackgroundPre-hospital emergency nurse (PEN) specialists are faced with patients presenting with non-specific chief complaints (NSC) to the emergency medical service (EMS) on a daily basis. These patients are often elderly and one in three has a serious condition and their acuity is not recognized.ObjectiveThe aim of the current study was to explore PEN specialists’ experiences in caring for patients presenting with non-specific chief complaints.DesignA qualitative study design with eleven individual interviews of PENs, between 2018 and 2020. Qualitative content analysis was used.ResultsThe analyses generated three categories including subcategories. The categories were “Unexplained suffering”. “Systematic approach and experience enhances medical safety”. “Organizational processes can be optimized”. The relation between the categories compiled as ́In-depth systematic assessment is perceived to reduce suffering and increases patient safetý.ConclusionThe PENs experiences in caring for patients presenting with non-specific chief complaints show that an in-depth systematic assessment may lead to a meaningful caring encounter which enables the identification of the cause of the chief complaint. Experience and a systematic approach were considered as essential to enhance medical safety. This could be strengthened through feedback on the nurse's care provided by care managers and employers. To optimize organizational processes, the development of the opportunity to convey the patient to different levels of care can be an important component.     

护理投诉原因分析及对策

对36例护理投诉的原因进行分析，针对原因提出8项解决对策，以提高护理质量和病人满意度。     

Differences in Long-term Mortality for Different Emergency Department Presenting Complaints

Objectives: To characterize long‐term mortality based on previous emergency department (ED) presenting complaints. Methods: The authors followed, for 10 years, all of the 12,667 nonsurgical patients visiting an ED during 1995/1996. Differences in standardized mortality ratio (SMR) depending on presenting complaints were then investigated. Results: During follow‐up, 5,324 deaths occurred (mortality rate 6.6 per 100 person‐years at risk), giving a SMR of 1.33 (95% CI = 1.30 to 1.37, p < 0.001) when compared with the expected mortality in the catchment area. Different presenting complaints were associated with different long‐term mortality rates, independent of age and gender (p < 0.0001). The subjects with seizures had the highest SMR (2.62, 95% CI = 2.13 to 3.22) followed by intoxications (2.51, 95% CI = 2.11 to 2.98), asthmalike symptoms (1.84, 95% CI = 1.65 to 2.06), and hyperglycemia (1.67, 95% CI = 1.42 to 1.95). The largest complaint group, chest pain, had a 20% higher mortality rate than the background population (95% CI = 1.13 to 1.26). Patients with a discharge diagnosis of myocardial infarction, but without chest pain as the presenting complaint, had an increased long‐term mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1.70, 95% CI = 1.15 to 2.42) compared to the group with chest pain. In contrast, stroke patients without strokelike symptoms had a reduced mortality (HR 0.74, 95% CI = 0.65 to 0.84) compared to patients with strokelike symptoms. Conclusions: Long‐term age‐ and gender‐adjusted mortality is the highest with seizures out of 33 presenting complaints and differs markedly between different ED admission complaints. Furthermore, depending on the admission complaint, long‐term mortality differs within the same discharge diagnosis. Hence, the presenting complaint adds unique information to the discharge diagnosis regarding long‐term mortality in nonsurgical patients.     

“品管圈”活动对提升门诊服务品质的探讨

目的探讨品管圈在门诊患者投诉管理中的应用效果。方法成立品管圈,运用质量管理常用工具对门诊患者投诉问题进行改进,并将改进前后状况进行比较。结果门诊患者投诉由平均每周发生46次（千人/周）下降到平均每周发生21.5次（千人/周）,差异有统计学意义（P〈0.05）。结论运用品管圈对门诊患者投诉进行管理,不仅提高了患者对门诊部工作的满意度,还为医院打造品牌提供了重要手段。     

门诊患者投诉“全记录”及其根本原因分析

目的建立门诊患者投诉"全记录"制度,引入组织学习机制,不断改进服务质量。方法2010年1—12月,在某门诊部记录所有患者的口头和书面投诉,对被记录的事件进行根本原因分析。结果(1)门诊投诉率为0.27‰;(2)平均每22.3例投诉就包含1例对患者造成直接身体伤害的事件;(3)大多数投诉涉及到个人,医生被投诉率最高,为44%;(4)被投诉3次及以上的医生占医生总数的17.6%,与其相关的投诉案例占总投诉量的20.9%。结论尽管患者倾向于投诉个人,但是造成问题的原因主要依然归结于系统因素。建立门诊患者投诉"全记录"制度有利于早期发现患者安全隐患,加强针对系统的患者安全保障措施。     

门诊投诉原因分析及管理措施

目的：探讨门诊投诉的原因及特点,提出合理的投诉管理措施,提高门诊的服务质量。方法：回顾性分析门诊办公室的投诉资料,考察门诊投诉发生的原因,提出投诉管理措施。结果：门诊投诉主要集中在服务与沟通、各科室的医生中,投诉的解决方式主要通过与科室协商及门诊办公室解释,获取患者谅解,化解纠纷;医院管理部门通过公示投诉、绩效考核、严格出停诊管理、宣传沟通渠道及加强门诊服务规范性等措施,可减少门诊投诉。结论：医院门诊应以病人为中心,增强服务意识,改善服务态度,为患者提供优质的医疗服务,同时重视门诊投诉,及时解决,并采取合理有效的投诉管理措施,有利于避免各类医疗纠纷投诉的发生,提高医疗服务质量,构建和谐的医患关系。     

Pathways,Pyramids and Icebergs? Mapping the Links Between Dissatisfaction and Complaints

In this article the authors report the findings of a study of satisfaction, dissatisfaction and complaining, funded by the National Health Service Executive (NHSE). Although interest in these issues has increased with the introduction of the Citizen's Charter Initiative and the continued growth of consumerism, few scholars have looked at the relationships between them. Satisfaction and dissatisfaction are commonly viewed as different facets of the same phenomenon. In turn, dissatisfaction is often understood to be a precursor to a complaint, or an embryonic one. The findings presented here suggest that satisfaction and dissatisfaction are linked but are essentially discrete constructs. The authors plot a variety of reactions to dissatisfaction and show that although excessive use is made of formal professional networks, few instances of dissatisfaction emerge as formal complaints. The article concludes that insufficient attention has been paid to understanding the everyday ways in which people cope with dissatisfaction and decisions not to voice a grievance.