Extending the opening hours of family medicine clinics will reduce load on emergency departments – effects on the early detection of limb fractures

Abstract

Patients with serious and non-serious limb complaints are diverted to emergency departments (EDs) at night, when regular clinics are closed. This study was conducted to identify the impact of extending the opening hours of family medicine (FM) clinics on the detection of limb fractures in patients with limb complaints, which could be a measure of expected patient influx in EDs. A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted in a health centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Patients with limb complaints were categorized by attendance during regular hours (7:30–21:30 hours) and extended hours (21:30–7:30 hours). Rates of fracture positivity, patients handled by the FM clinic and patients referred by the FM clinic to other departments were analysed. SPSS Statistics version 24 (IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA) was used for analysis; chi-squared tests were used to determine association and P-values 0.05). More fracture-positive patients and fewer referrals during extended hours indicates the significance of extending clinic opening hours; extending the opening hours of this clinic to 24 hours indirectly reduced ED crowding.