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Dalwai, M.K., Twomey, M., Maikere, J., Said, S., Wakeel, M., Jemmy, J.P., et al. (2014) Reliability and Accuracy of the South African Triage Scale When Used by Nurses in the Emergency Department of Timergara Hospital, Pakistan. South African Medicine Journal, 104, 372-375. https://doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.7604

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Waiting Times and Length of Stay of Trauma Patients in a Botswana Referral Hospital Emergency Department

  AUTHORS: Keatlaretse Siamisang, Kago Mokute, Bonolo Bonnie Mhaladi, John Thato Tlhakanelo

  KEYWORDS: Emergency Department, Waiting Times, Length of Stay, Trauma, Botswana

  JOURNAL NAME: Open Journal of Emergency Medicine, Vol.10 No.1, March 22, 2022

  ABSTRACT: Background: Mortality and morbidity due to trauma are a significant public health challenge. There is paucity of data on the waiting times and length of stay (LOS) of trauma patients in emergency departments in Botswana. The aim of this study was to determine the Emergency Department (ED) waiting times and LOS of trauma patients at Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone, Botswana. Methods: This was a retrospective medical records review of waiting times (time from triage to review by ED medical officer) and LOS (time from triage to disposition from the emergency department). The waiting times for the different assigned acuities were assessed against the South African Triage System (SATS) standards. All trauma patients seen from 19/11/2018 to 18/12/2018 were included in the study. Prolonged length of stay was defined as duration > 6 hours. Categorical data was summarized with frequencies while numeric data was summarized with medians and interquartile ranges. Results: A total of 187 trauma patients’ files were analyzed. Of these, 72 (38.5%) were females. The median waiting time was 3.8 hours and the maximum was 19.2 hours. The median length of stay (LOS) was 8.8 hours with a maximum of 37.2 hours. Only 53 (28.3%) of the participants had a LOS of less than 6 hours. None of the emergent patients were seen immediately. Only 5 (4.0%) of the very urgent patients were seen within the target of 10 minutes. Finally, only 10 (20.4%) of urgent patients were seen within the target time of 1 hour. Conclusion: The waiting times and length of stay in Princess Marina Hospital were mostly above the recommended standards. Urgent interventions are needed to reduce waiting times and length of stay for trauma patients. More studies are needed to explore the sources of delay and investigate possible solutions to this public health challenge.