Accident and Emergency

Information leaflet about the Accident & Emergency Department

Introduction
This leaflet informs patients and their companions about procedures at the Accident & Emergency Department (Spoedeisende Hulp (SEH)) at Bronovo Hospital.

Procedures at the A&E department
Upon arrival a patient is registered by the A&E receptionist. The receptionist will require your insurance card and your identity papers. As from 1st June 2009, the Citizen Service Number in Healthcare Act (Wet Burgerservicenummer in de zorg (Wbsn-Z)) applies. This means, amongst other things, that we as a hospital are legally obliged to check your identity papers and record your citizen service number.

An A&E nurse will then immediately assess the seriousness of the situation according to the so-called triage system. On the basis of this system, a patient’s symptoms are assessed and it is determined how urgently the patient needs to be attended to. The nurse gives the patient a colour code based on the seriousness of the symptoms, injury and the corresponding estimated waiting time. The colour codes are explained in a leaflet you will receive from the nurse and on posters in the waiting room and at the A&E reception desk.
The A&E nurse records a few personal details of the patient. If necessary, the partner/companion can provide these details if the patient is not able to do this.

The attending A&E doctor and/or 'poortarts’ [newly qualified doctor] is informed of the patient’s situation. This doctor will examine the patient and, if necessary, will perform a number of tests and start initial treatment. If necessary, the specialist or trainee doctor is informed. Sometimes, on instruction from the attending doctor, an intern (medical student) will ask a number of questions and perform physical examinations.

Waiting times
Waiting times at A&E may be long. There may be several reasons for this:

• the seriousness of a patient’s condition determines the speed of examination and treatment. It is not the case that who comes first is served first. It also depends upon the specialism you have been registered for and what your colour code is;
• the patient’s blood needs to be examined in the laboratory. Results for such an examination take at least an hour; it may be that an x-ray must be taken. Sometimes the x-ray assistant is still occupied in a different department;
• the doctor wants to consult another specialist; there may be a large number of patients at A&E. Everyone cannot be attended to at the same time;
• the attending doctors must also be available for any acute cases within the hospital. Therefore they can be called away.

We ask your understanding for this. The main thing is that the patient receives the quickest and best possible treatment.

Important!!
Have you recently been admitted to hospital outside The Netherlands? Please report this immediately at the A&E reception desk.

Going home
If a patient is allowed to go home he may, if necessary, be given an appointment for the Outpatients Department or a letter to make that appointment himself. Your family doctor will be informed in writing about your visit to the A&E department. If a patient leaves by taxi, he/she must pay the taxi costs himself.

Hospital admission
Should the attending doctor decide to admit a patient, arrangements for the admission will be made. As soon as this is done and the nursing ward is ready to receive the patient, he will be transported to the ward by a hospital porter or a nurse.

It may occur that a patient has to stay at the A&E department for one night. This will only happen if there is no room available on the relevant ward. If the hospital has no admission capacity but admission is necessary, a transfer to another hospital will be arranged.

General information
Space at A&E is limited. We therefore request that you stay in the treatment room or waiting room. Patients or companions walking around can cause unrest and will not help staff to keep track of the situation.

Only one companion can accompany a patient in the treatment room. Any other companions can wait in the waiting room. However, both parents can stay with their small child. If a companion cannot stay with a patient, he may leave a telephone number with the receptionist or a nurse.

If you want something to eat or drink, consult the nurse first, because it is sometimes necessary that a patient must fast. Coffee and tea are available from a machine in the waiting room. During the day until 20.00 hours coffee and tea are also available at the Bronovo shop in the central hall. Sandwiches and other snacks are also available there.

The use of a mobile phone is not permitted within the A&E department. Of course you may always phone from outside the hospital.

The A&E department is open 24 hours a day.

Telephone number A&E department: 070 - 312 44 45

Edition: March 2010/93