ER Group

Volumes of patients

As one of the first units in the ER Group stable, Carstenhof has developed a niche market in the area, trusted by patients and Industry in the area over many years. Although a new Emergency Unit has recently opened in the area, patient numbers still consistently are above 100 patients per month.

Clinical profile

A wide range of medical and surgical emergencies are catered for by the unit. WCA cases make up the majority of cases, and is well supported by general specialist cover.

Fees and Administration fee

No administration levy is charged by the unit. The patient’s account is submitted to medical aid directly by ER Consulting Inc. provided the correct information is given. All WCA cases are welcomed in the unit, provided supporting documentation is in order.

Triage

Asc at all ER Consulting Inc units, South African Triage Group (SATG) protocols are employed in the unit. All patients are triaged on arrival and are allocated a colour code. This colour represents the acuity of the patient and the order in which the patient will be seen. This system enables clinicians to rapidly assess the severity of any emergency.

Doctor Model

Currently 4 full time ER Consulting Inc. doctors ensure adequate clinical cover for the unit, assisted by the Area Manager who has vast Emergency Medicine experience. The unit has a regular senior academic clinician performing fixed shifts, helping to ensure a high standard of clinical care is delivered.

Locums

All locums are ER Consulting Inc. accredited. The locum pool is extensive and shared with the Northern Gauteng locum pool.

Shifts

Doctors work in 12 hour shifts with an additional doctor available on a call out basis, should patient needs exceed the available resource at any given time.

Administration

A full time unit administrator is employed by ER Consulting Inc. to perform all administrative tasks. The administrative data is exported to head office where the full process is completed.

Continued Professional Development

ER Consulting Inc. hosts accredited monthly Morbidity & Mortality and CPD meetings attended by specialists, nursing staff and paramedics. These meetings offer the opportunity to discuss pertinent issues in the unit and to remedy any problems that may arise. These meetings are further supported by the quarterly ER Group Morbidity and Mortality meeting held at the dedicated ER Group training centre in Bryanston.

WCA/COID

Numerous businesses in the area make use of the efficient WCA service that accepts all patients injured on duty, provided a copy of their ID book and the Employer’s Report are present. This documentation is then collated by our unit administrator together with the First & Progress Medical Reports before being submitted to our head office for processing. The programme is so successful that WCA cases now make up the majority of cases being treated at Life Carstenhof.

Clinical Protocols

ER Consulting Inc. operates according to international best practice and is guided by the ER Consulting Inc. clinical guidelines which are available in electronic format and accessible 24 hours per day. Additionally there are hard copies of the SAMF and MIMS guidelines in the unit. The ER Consulting Inc National Clinical Director ensures that all doctors are up to date through the innovative clinical proficiency scorecard, providing training for our doctors through our dedicated training facility in Bryanston.

Research

2012 sees a renewed focus on quality clinical research with the Clinical Director recently launching research guidelines at the ER Group annual conference in Sun City that will ensure ER Consulting Inc remains on the front line of private Emergency Medicine research in South Africa.