‘Bed blockers’: How nurses view older patients in the ED

For older people presenting to the emergency department, doctors and nurses not only struggle to help the patient for their existing condition, but other pre-existing conditions that come with age.

It’s known as juggling the co-morbidities, and it has a noticeable impact on the resources of the emergency department.

So, how well equipped are our emergency departments to cope with older patients?

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Jane Stein-Parbury is the Professor of Mental Health Nursing at the University of Technology Sydney Faculty of Health.

She has recently looked at how nurses view older people presenting to the emergency department, and found that they both struggle to deal with the patient’s complex conditions, and with their own role as a nurse.

Jane speaks to Ellen Leabeater.

Image: Pudgeefeet on Flickr.