A Qualitative Study Exploring Patients Experience of Emergency Healthcare Utilisation during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Background COVID-19 caused a global pandemic, disrupting healthcare services and contributing to significant mortality and morbidity worldwide. This necessitated high-quality care to be balanced with infection control in Emergency Department (ED) setting, compounding existing challenges for both healthcare professionals and patients. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of adults who attended EDs across Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Study findings will enhance understanding of patient’s experiences of ED attendance during COVID-19 and add to the evidence which explores the impact of Covid-19 on patient care. Methods This study utilises a subset of the Better Data Better Planning study [1] consisting of 46 interviews from 4 Regional Hospital Sites across Ireland. A qualitative research design comprising of semi-structured interviews was used for this study. Results Two key themes were produced from the data; Sense of reassurance in the ED during COVID-19 and COVID-19 impact on ED attendance and discharge experience. Conclusions This paper provides tangible insights into the experiences of ED patients during Covid-19 Notably, the importance of staff reassurance, where along with PPE use, reconfiguration of the ED environment and communication were found to alleviate patients concerns regarding exposure and transmission risks of Covid-19 while being present in the ED during the pandemic.