Short summary

Aim: The aim of this study is to explore the different healthcare professionals' experiences with the project 'ED physician-based nursing home services'.

Intervention: The 'ED physician-based nursing home services' offering an alternative to a hospitalisation by providing acute care and clinical assessments to all residents at nursing homes in Odense Municipality in collaboration with the acute care team in Odense Municipality.

Rationale

Residents at nursing homes are often admitted to hospitals because of infections, or dehydration. Admissions increase risk of delirium, hospital-acquired infections, and reduced function-level. We initiated an outreach service based on physicians from the emergency department (ED) seeking to move the ED treatment to the nursing homes. The ED physician collaborates with the municipal-acute-care-team, and perform clinical evaluation and treatment based on POCT lab facilities, ultrasound investigations, and intravenous treatment at the nursing homes. The service is activated whenever an ambulance is ordered to a nursing home. This study aimed to explore healthcare professionals' experiences with this service.

Description of the cohort

Qualitative semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals.

Data and biological material

Qualitative semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals.