Determination of emergency department patient utilization and staffing at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH)

In developing staffing plans for emergency departments (EDs), a multifaceted approach must be considered without compromising quality of care, patient safety and personnel satisfaction. This study aims to determine the temporal trend of patient attendance and staffing in a major tertiary hospital ED to assist in establishing an optimal staffing pattern. 

A 1-year retrospective ED census review of adult patients at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) was undertaken. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post hoc Fisher-Hayter pairwise comparisons were utilized to determine if the ED consults and admissions were significantly (P<0.05) associated with the month of the year and day of the week. 

 A total 43,632 consults at the UP-PGH ED, averaging of 3,636 per month or 121 per day, were seen in 2019. Results indicated statistically significant differences between monthly [F (11,353) =16.45; P<0.0001] and between daily means [F (6,358) =4.19; P=0.0004]. The most number of consults occur during August, September, October and November while admissions were highest during April and October.  It was busiest during Mondays and afternoon shifts (1400-2200 hours) with majority arriving as urgent in acuity. Mortality was also highest during the afternoon shifts. 

The temporal variations in patient visits and acuity described in our study can be used as a template for workforce scheduling and resource allocation to meet the demands in the provision of care at the ED.