A & E Services Visit

I just returned from an afternoon spent in the Aberystwyth A & E (Accident and Emergency) department. It was very educational and I enjoyed it greatly. I spent several hours following both doctors and nurses through the department in each stage of patient care from receiving to discharge. Many things are similar but there are also many differences. They could not believe that the first person our patients see is a nurse or that the nurse has the authority to begin ordering tests from triage, backed by protocols. We did a lot of exchanging of information I am very intrigued by their 4 hour target protocols and look forward to learning more about those throughout my tour of other A & E departments around Wales.
Mariah