Capacity Management
As a result of the population increase in different parts of the world, it is evident that the hospitals end up being overcrowded. This is because of an increased number of patients. With an increased number of patients, some of the resources found within the hospitals like the beds keep shrinking (Ruiz, 2018). Another huge problem is the safety of both patients and caregivers. As the ER department manager, it is vital for the hospital CEO to the issue of overcrowding that needs a more comprehensive solution apart from spending $6 million. This is because the issue is not all about the money, but other factors need to be considered.
The first thing which is vital to know some of the root causes of over-crowding. One of the primary causes is the connection between the supply of beds, demand, and poor flow of patients. This is to say that the demand increases while the bed supply continues to shrink, and this leads to a poor flow of patients (Pförringer et al., 2019). Another thing is a delay in treating the patients due to the lack of enough resources. Some patients are forced to spend more days in the wards due to the absence of resources such as caregivers, medicines, and other resources. There is also a delay when it comes to discharging the patients because of a lengthy procedure that must be conducted. There is also the issue of unnecessary absence of caregivers and other staff.
Accountability is one of the comprehensive solutions that should be considered. All the caregivers should be accountable because they play a significant role when it comes to this issue. Accountability means that in case a doctor is not reporting to work, he/she should inform the administration earlier to avoid problems. The nurses should ensure that they take good care of the patients by providing all the requirements, which include medicines and a clean place to sleep. Sometimes overcrowding in the ER is brought by a lack of coordination among the caregivers. To avoid this problem, a protocol should be designed, which should guide the patients.
Additionally, more resources should be supplied to cater to patient needs. When looking at most of the public hospitals, it takes time before the government can supply the required resources such as beds, blankets, drugs, protective equipment for the caregivers, and the doctors among other caregivers. Thus, all hospitals should have enough resources to avoid overcrowding (Husseni & Ullah, 2019). An example, if there are enough rooms, there could be no patients sleeping along the hallways or spending more time in the queue before they can be attended. Having enough caregivers means that at least one nurse care be responsible for a few patients, and in this way, the issue of over-crowding can no longer be an issue.
In conclusion, this discussion has provided some of the comprehensive solutions that can be taken by the CEO and the chief of the medical staff to solve the issue of overcrowding. It is evident that the hospital not only requires the $6 million, but there are other factors to be considered that are beyond the money. The two solutions which are discussed in this paper include accountability and supply of enough resources such as the beds and caregivers. One of the recommendations from this discussion is that before the ER is set aside, a plan should be developed so that future problems such as overcrowding can be avoided.
References
Ruiz, Z. (2018). Nursing Pain Management in an Emergency Room with Hallway Overflow (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University).
Pförringer, D., Pflüger, P., Waehlert, L., Beivers, A., Seidl, F., Duscher, D., … & Edenharter, G. (2019). Emergency room as primary point of access in the German healthcare system. European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery, 1-8.
Husseni, A. M., & Ullah, M. A. (2019). The dire need of urgent care centers in Pakistan; A potential solution to emergency room overcrowding. Journal of Ayub Medical College Abbottabad, 31(1), 1-2.