Introduction
Emergency Nurses in NSW have a long tradition of pioneering nurse initiated emergency care through various programs, including the Front Line Emergency Care Course implemented in regional and rural settings, the Clinical Initiative Nurse Program and locally developed guidelines. Traditionally these programs primarily supported only senior nurses in providing care to a limited patient demographic, leading to disparities in acceptance, utilisation, and evaluation across the state.
Purpose
The Emergency Care Assessment and Treatment Program (ECAT) represents a significant advancement, extending upon prior initiatives to become fully operational throughout NSW. The program has harnessed digital technology to support nurses to deliver standardised, safe and timely initial emergency care using 73 ECAT protocols across all emergency care contexts. Enrolled and Registered Nurses can now initiate care to a broader patient group for a broader range of presentations within their respective scope of practice.
Outcome
This presentation will provide an overview of the foundations through to the current state of the ECAT program. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear about the development and consultation process leading to the publication and implementation of 73 statewide protocols. Highlights of the ECAT protocols will be demonstrated including the development of an electronic medical record solution, consideration of human centred design, interactive website and mobile friendly features and in-built safety considerations to support an agile workforce.
Conclusion
ECAT has built upon foundations in nurse-initiated care to provide a standardised, state-wide solution which enables all nurses, regardless of experience, to provide, safe and timely emergency care. A key to this success has been the development of accessible web-based protocols which consider human-factors, cognitive load, end-user useability and in-built safety mechanisms, and the programs incorporation into eMR systems.