Characteristics of the acute medical admissions unit at study and control sites
| Characteristics | Intervention | Control | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–2 | 2002–3 | 2001–2 | 2002–3 | |
| AMAU, acute medical admissions unit; JHO, junior house officer; SHO, senior house officer; SpR, specialist registrar. | ||||
| *Number of admissions per doctor/nurse per hour. | ||||
| Total number of admissions (1 November to 30 April) | 6065 | 5922 | 3431 (total) | 3581 (total) |
| 2320 (medical) | 2393 (medical) | |||
| Mean number of admissions to the AMAU per day | 33.5 | 32.7 | 18.9 (total) | 19.8 (total) |
| 12.8 (medical) | 13.2 (medical) | |||
| Number of medical staff working on the AMAU | 1–3 JHO, 1–2 SHO depending on the time of day. 24-h cover by an SpR | 09:00–22:00: 1 JHO. 24-h cover by an SHO or an SpR | ||
| Patient/doctor ratio* | 0.1 to 1.0 | 0.2 to 0.4 | ||
| Number of nursing staff working on the AMAU (excludes shift overlaps) | 5–8 trained nurses depending on the time and day | 3–6 trained nurses depending on the time and day | ||
| Patient/nurse ratio* | 0.2 to 0.3 | 0.1 to 0.3 | ||