Starting this week (Monday 5 February), we are adjusting our procedure for managing MET calls within the Emergency Department (ED). Inpatient units are now required to attend MET calls for any patients who have a bed request under their unit and are in the ED for their site.
This change aims to create better patient outcomes by improving the process of escalation for deteriorating patients in the ED. It will provide an equivalent approach to our process for managing MET calls within inpatient wards.
What this means for inpatients in the ED
- Inpatient MET calls will now be called for any patient in the ED with a bed request for an inpatient unit on that site.
- The MET call will be activated through our standard emergency call to 2222, followed by the message: ‘MET call, ED, (cubicle number), inpatient team’ (with page and overhead call).
- The following people will be required to attend:
- Inpatient registrar or delegate for the treating unit (the general medicine registrar is only required to attend if the patient is admitted under a general medicine unit).
- ED consultant/senior registrar
- ED treating doctor
- ED nursing representative
- The ED will provide critical care for the initial MET response. If urgent Intensive Care Unit (ICU) attendance is required, they will escalate to the ICU via a new ‘ED critical care response’ call for adult patients, or, via the existing ‘Call Now’ criteria for paediatric patients. The ‘ED critical care response’ is a new code we will trial during this period.
Patients who have a bed request for a specialty unit based at another site will be managed by the ED team. The ED will notify the treating team at the referred unit. Patients without bed requests will be managed by the ED team.
We will review this trial after one month, three months, and six months, and will be keen to learn from the feedback and experiences of our units and treating teams throughout the trial period.
If you have any questions about these changes, please reach out to your manager.
Approved by Cath Cronin, Interim Chief Operating Officer – Acute Services