A study led by the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), in collaboration with the Canarian Health Service and Italian universities, has analyzed how confinement affected abandonment patterns in Emergency Services. The research compared data from the university hospitals of Ancona (Italy) and Doctor Negrín (Gran Canaria) during periods before, during, and after the pandemic.
The main conclusion is that the rate of patients leaving the ER without receiving medical attention decreased during the lockdown stages. In Gran Canaria, this percentage dropped from 4% in 2019 to 2.6% in 2020, before rising again to 4% in 2021. Data from both hospitals show a similar trend.
The analysis also identified that males between 17 and 43 years old, with lower triage codes (indicating lower urgency), were most prone to leaving the service before being seen by a doctor. Researchers point out that pressure on Emergency Services is a significant problem for public health systems.
This work, with results published in the journal Medicina, aims to provide data for formulating measures to reduce pressure on ER services and improve public awareness of appropriate care pathways. Signatories from ULPGC include Professor Lluís Serra Majem and researchers Laura Tomaino and Silvia Rodríguez Mireles.
