¿Por qué vienen los pacientes a urgencias? Análisis de la utilización del Servicio de Urgencias extrahospitalario de Pamplona

Resumen

Objetivos

La demanda en el Servicio de Urgencias Extrahospitalarias (SUE) de Pamplona ha aumentado considerablemente en 2015 y 2016.

El objetivo del estudio es conocer el perfil de los pacientes, los motivos por los que acuden, el centro de salud (CS) de procedencia y si han solicitado cita.

Material y métodos

Estudio multicéntrico, descriptivo. Se utilizó una encuesta autocumplimentada por los pacientes, una semana al mes, entre agosto del 2016 y enero del 2017.

Se recogieron: sexo, edad, tiempo de evolución de la enfermedad, CS de procedencia, solicitud de cita en CS, tiempo de demora hasta la cita y motivo de acudir al SUE.

La asociación entre llamada a CS y el resto de las variables se analizó mediante la prueba χy de Pearson.

Resultados

Se recogieron 3.489 encuestas. El 61,10% de los encuestados eran mujeres y el 76,1% tenía entre 15 y 55 años. El 65,7% no había solicitado cita en su CS.

Quienes no han llamado al CS (65,7%) acuden por ser «de repente» (27,82%) y «problemas de horario» (19,21%), mientras que los motivos de quienes han llamado (33,21%) son «sugerencia del CS» (33,21%) y «tener muchos días de espera» (31,30%).

Conclusiones

La mayoría de los pacientes que acuden al SUE lo hacen sin haber solicitado previamente cita en su CS, aunque este sea la puerta de entrada al sistema sanitario.

Es fundamental educar a la población sobre autocuidados y utilización de los servicios sanitarios.

Abstract

Objectives

The demand in the extra-hospital emergency department of Pamplona has increased considerably in 2015 and 2016.

The objective of the study is to determine the profile of the patients, the reasons why they come, Primary Care centres of origin, and if they have requested an appointment in them.

Material and methods

A multicentre, descriptive study using a self-completed questionnaire by patients was conducted during one week per month, between August 2016 and January 2017.

The variables collected were: gender, age, time of evolution of the disease, Primary Care Centre of origin, appointment request in Primary Care Centre, time of delay until the appointment, and reason for going to the extra-hospital emergency department.

The association between the call made to the Primary Care Centre and the rest of the variables was analysed using the Pearson χy test.

Results

A total of 3489 questionnaires were collected, with 61.10% of the respondents being women, and 76.1% were between 15 and 55 years old. Almost two-thirds (65.7%) had not requested an appointment in their Primary Care Centre.

Those who had not called the Primary Care Centre (65.7%), referred to it being “sudden” (27.82%) and “due to work schedule problems” (19.21%). While the reasons for those who had called (33.21%) were “suggestion of the Primary Care Centre” (33.21%) and “have to wait for many days” (31.30%).

Conclusions

Most patients, who come to the extra-hospital emergency department, do so without having previously requested an appointment in their Primary Care Centre, although this is the gateway to the health system.

It is essential to educate the population about self-care and the way they should use health services.