Activities

Improving assessment of chest pain in emergency departments

Enhancing the use of evidence based care to reduce variation in clinical practice is a key area of focus for the network. Assessment of chest pain is a very common reason for presentation to emergency departments (ED) and the process to ‘rule out acute coronary syndrome’ (ACS) varies across ED. A quality improvement project has commenced to refine the assessment process using the best available evidence. A workshop held on Tuesday 17 March with participating ED highlighted the latest evidence in this area.

Ambulatory emergency care

Processes for providing emergency care are changing. The use of Ambulatory Emergency Care [AEC] has been identified as one way of providing effective and safe care to certain groups of patients without them requiring admission to hospital. In order for us to understand the current state of AEC in Victoria, the network undertook a survey of ED to assess the use of this model in their department.

Managing difficult behaviour in emergency departments, a challenge for all

The challenge for staff is building capacity for effective patient management balanced with ensuring the safety of staff and others. A forum was held in Ballarat on Tuesday 18 November 2008, highlighting key issues associated with managing difficult behaviour.

The Inaugural Emergency Care Improvement and Innovation Clinical Network forum

The inaugural Emergency Care Improvement and Innovation Clinical Network forum provided an opportunity for ED clinicians in Victoria to shape the direction of the network and hear best practice stories in emergency care. The forum was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Tuesday 17 June 2008.