Patient Admission Procedures

Patient Admission

• Admission of a patient means allowing and facilitating a patient to stay in the hospital unit or ward for observation, investigation, and treatment of the disease.
• There are two main categories of admission: unplanned (urgent) admission and pre-planned admission.

Unplanned Admission

• Unplanned admission occurs when a patient arrives at the hospital in their own transport or by ambulance.
• Patient's condition is assessed by a specialist emergency nurse, called the triage nurse, who provides first aid and determines the priority of treatment needed.
• Waiting time depends on the severity of the patient's condition, the presence of patients with more serious conditions, and the availability of medical personnel.
• There are four levels of priority: emergent, observation, priority 1 resuscitation & critically-ill patients, priority 2 major emergencies, priority 3 minor accidents, and priority 4 non-emergency.

Pre-planned Admission

• Pre-planned admission refers to a scheduled admission of a patient for a planned medical procedure or surgery.
• This type of admission is usually pre-arranged by a physician or a surgeon, and the patient is given a specific date and time for their admission to the hospital.
• There are three types of pre-planned admissions: elective admission, direct admission, and transfer admission.

Types of Pre-planned Admission

• Elective admission refers to a scheduled admission of a patient for a planned medical procedure or surgery.
• Direct admission refers to a patient being admitted to the hospital without going through the emergency department or any other intermediary department.
• Transfer admission refers to the admission of patients who are transferred from other facilities/hospitals.

SBAR Communication Model

• SBAR is a communication tool designed to improve patient safety by promoting effective communication among healthcare staff.
• SBAR stands for Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation.
• The purpose of SBAR is to allow staff to communicate assertively and effectively, reduce the need for repetition, and reduce the likelihood of errors.

Using SBAR

• SBAR provides a structured format for communication, ensuring that both the sender and recipient know what to expect.
• SBAR can be used by anyone in the healthcare setting, across different disciplines and levels of staff.
• SBAR helps to ensure that the sender is not interrupted by the receiver with questions that will be answered later on in the communication.