The HIQA Report on the investigation into the quality, safety and governance of the care provided by Tallaght Hospital for patients requiring acute admission has recommended that an Emergency Department-specific system of physiological monitoring and triggered responses comparable to the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) should be implemented. An Emergency Department (ED) Monitoring and Escalation Protocol (the Protocol) has been designed to meet the HIQA requirement for adult patients in ED. The objective of this research is to assess the impact of this Protocol – developed to reduce clinical risk through timely assessment and escalation – on the performance of Cork University Hospital (CUH) ED. The key research question is “Can implementation of an Emergency Department monitoring and escalation protocol for adult patients reduce the number of critical incidents, improve timely intervention in patients requiring a higher level of care and improve clinical outcomes?”
