Time in motion study of an emergency department mental health clinician’s activity before and after the introduction of an emergency department team leader

Abstract

Purpose of the research

Emergency Departments (ED) continue to get busier internationally and across Australia with mental health presentations rising who typically experience increased length of stays in EDs. A pilot Time in Motion study was implemented to examine how ED mental health clinicians spend their time and explore tasks which could be diverted to an existing team leader. The study examined these tasks both before and after the movement of an existing team leader to the ED. Limited research has been conducted into how the ED mental health clinician utilises their time and the multiple non-clinical tasks they are required to complete.

Major findings

Pre- and post-invention results indicated considerable improvements in clinical service delivery. For initial assessments, the wait times were reduced by over 2 hours, and the number of initial assessments doubled. Operational requirements were cut by two thirds, and individual tasks by the ED clinician were reduced by one quarter. Documentation and other administrative tasks still take up a considerable portion of the clinician’s time.

Conclusions

This study has provided a valuable insight into daily clinical, administrative and organisational tasks the clinician balances, and highlights alternatives that may free up the clinician to focus more on clinical work.