Will hospital based short stay assessment units improve efficiency of paediatric services?

Abstract

Hospital based short stay observation units staffed by trained medical and nursing personnel have been documented to improve efficiency of paediatric services1,2,3,4. Reducing patient admissions will decrease midnight occupancy, night time nursing work load and health care costs and preserve the available resources for indoor paediatric patients. Length of hospital stay is related to psychological problems that follow hospitalization of children and is another reason for keeping acute paediatric admissions to a minimum5 . At the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children, Colombo (LRH) outdoor nebulisation is provided by the Emergency Treatment Unit of the out patients department but assessment or observation units as an alternative to acute admissions is currently available only to patients with diarrhoea, suspected dengue fever, head injuries or those needing minor surgical procedures. General paediatric admissions lack this facility.