An NHMRC partnership grant of $1.5 million will also go towards a study to improve the safety and quality of emergency nursing care. More than $3.6 million will be granted in total.
The NSLHD’s Nursing and Midwifery Director of Research Professor Margaret Fry will help lead the national project, examining a standardised assessment and management approach for all emergency care nurses.
Margaret said the evidenced-based system is needed with more than eight million people attending Australia’s 287 emergency departments each year.
“Emergency nurses are the first and sometimes only clinicians that patients see, so the quality of this initial assessment and ongoing treatment is vital. Patient safety is contingent on accurate assessment, intervention and escalation,” she said.
“There is currently no standardised way that Australia’s 29,000 emergency nurses are taught to assess and manage their patients, so the research will examine the HIRAID system, a validated framework developed by the research team.
“More than 30 NSW, Victorian and Queensland hospitals will be involved in the trial over the next five years, and if this approach proves effective, it’s likely to be adopted not only in Australia but internationally as well, across Fiji, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
“We are anticipating a positive response, and expect the training will lead to a 20 per cent reduction in inpatient deterioration events and an increase in patients reporting a good ED experience.”