Intensive care in hospital emergency services: challenges for nurses

Abstract

Objective: To identify the challenges, especially the difficulties, concerning the care provided to critical patients in the emergency room of the University Hospital of Londrina, from the nurses’ standpoint, as well as list the problem solution strategies suggested by the nurses. Methodology: This work was a cross-sectional, exploratory study, together with a descriptive analysis of the data. After having received approval from the Research Ethics Committee of the University Hospital of Londrina, logged under protocol number 239/09, an open question questionnaire, based on structural self-reported references, was applied to all of the hospital emergency room nurses, concerning the nursing care provided to critical patients. Results: The main reported difficulties concerned the scarcity of material, human, and physical resources due to the overwhelming demand of critical patients. Other difficulties included the maintenance of the patient’s privacy and the handling of specific equipment, such as mechanical ventilators. The main interference in this sector’s daily routine with patients in critical conditions was related to staff dimensioning. The main suggested strategies included: increase the number of ICU hospital beds, hire more employees, conduct more trainings with staff, and group critical patients together. Conclusion: In light of these results, this study confirmed the hypothesis of the extreme difficulty in providing nursing care to critical patients in the hospital emergency room. Therefore, the suggestions made by this hospital’s nurses must be considered, especially those dealing with the governability of professionals.