Improve emergency treatment in clinics

20.04.2010 17:16

Specialist societies formulate goals for central interdisciplinary emergency rooms

Accident victims and patients with acute illnesses have a better chance of survival and recovery if they are treated immediately by the appropriate specialist. More and more clinics are currently setting up central emergency rooms (CNA) for all acute cases. To ensure that patients continue to receive the best possible care, the German Society for Surgery (DGCH) demands that emergency rooms be staffed by interdisciplinary staff in order to ensure specific specialist expertise even in emergencies. The DGCH has now drawn up a joint statement on this with the medical specialist societies, which are responsible for the majority of emergency medical care.

For example, if a patient with acute abdominal pain also suffers from a cardiac or metabolic disease, it is difficult for the referring family doctor or the emergency services to assess which specialist is responsible in an emergency. “An interdisciplinary central emergency room must therefore be staffed by at least one surgeon and one internist, with additional specialists such as anesthesiologists and neurologists quickly available,” emphasizes Professor Dr. med. Hartwig Bauer, Secretary General of the DGCH from Berlin. The aim is to provide emergency patients, who are predominantly treated on an outpatient basis, with professional and professional care in a timely manner. If further inpatient treatment is required, central interdisciplinary reception wards have proven to be effective in controlling necessary further treatment measures.

In complex cases that are initially unclear, such as a stroke or a seriously injured person, it is important to take specialist action as quickly as possible: “Immediately after the acute event, the so-called “golden hour” represents a phase that is essential for survival,” explains Professor Dr. med. Andreas Seekamp, Kiel, the need for specialist emergency treatment. The relevant specialist skills must therefore be available in a central emergency room. The head of the Clinic for Trauma Surgery at the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel Campus, headed the interdisciplinary working group for the German Society for Surgery and its member societies, which formulated the consensus of the various disciplines.

The experts reject separate medical training in the sense of a “specialist in emergency medicine” who treats all emergencies across specialist boundaries. A specialist emergency treatment is already part of the respective specialist training. The specialist societies are in favor of appointing a specialist as the full-time head of the ZNA. They are currently discussing which qualifications he should acquire as part of the currently valid additional training in emergency medicine. The rapid care of emergencies requires, above all, smooth processes with clear responsibilities. The additional training, especially in clinical process management, should enable him to do this. 

In addition to medical considerations, there are also economic considerations in favor of ZNA. However, ensuring specialist medical emergency care around the clock must remain the primary goal when setting up a CNA and organizing it. Even and especially in an emergency, the patient is entitled to treatment according to the relevant specialist standard even outside of regular working hours, according to the DGCH. This central demand can also be found in the statement that was adopted and published by the interdisciplinary working group in consensus with its specialist societies.