THE EFFECT OF THE PANDEMIC PROCESS ON THE NUMBER OF PATIENT ADMISSIONS, HOSPITALIZATIONS AND REFERRALS IN A SECONDARY EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT

Objective: In December 2019, the respiratory disease caused by a coronavirus group virus, first seen in Wuhan, China, was named "coronavirus disease" (COVID-19). As a result of various decisions taken around the world to keep the disease under control, to provide healthcare services to diseases other than COVID-19, and to protect healthcare personnel from transmission, there have been some disruptions in healthcare service delivery. Methods: In this study, the daily number of patients admitted to the emergency department of a state hospital during the pandemic period, the number of patients hospitalized and the referred to another hospital were examined. These data were compared with the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic period. Applications made between January 01, 2019 and December 31, 2022 were examined retrospectively. Monthly data were collected on the number of patients admitted to the emergency department, the number of hospitalized patients and referred to another institution during the four-year period. The effects of the pandemic period on the total number of admissions, referrals and hospitalizations were compared before and after the pandemic. Although the number of patients admitted to the emergency department decreased significantly during the pandemic period, the total number of patients hospitalized and referred from the emergency department did not decrease at a similar rate Results: Considering the significant decrease in patient admissions seen with the pandemic, it would be appropriate to examine whether the emergency department is used properly by patients outside the above-mentioned group (without hospitalization or referral) in order to ensure effective and quality health services.