Review of a nurse practitioner led short stay unit

Abstract

To review the function of a novel paediatric nurse practitioner (PNP) led short stay assessment unit. A prospective observational study of acute attendances to this unit over 1 year, with 4 one-month data collection periods. Outcomes evaluated included: length of stay, diagnoses, discharges, transfers to the offsite inpatient paediatric ward and re-attendance rates. 270 acute attendances (mean age of 5 years, 23% < 1 year) and a further 107 patients for planned reviews/investigations were seen. The majority (65%) of acute patients spent less than 8 hours on the unit with a discharge rate of 76% and re-attendance of 3%. No significant differences were found in discharge or re-attendance rates for patients seen by PNPs compared to doctors (75% vs 78%, p = 0.66; 1.9% vs 4.4% p = 0.29 respectively). A predominantly PNP-led short stay paediatric assessment unit, with appropriate multidisciplinary support may be a viable and safe option.