The numbers of GEDI CN staff required for your health service to operate the GEDI service is determined by a range of factors including numbers of presentations of older patients to the ED, the size of hospital and population demographic of the surrounding community. For example, an ED with overall presentation rates of 150 patients per day, of which 20% are over 75 years will equate to 30 patients over 75 years in a 24-hour period.
Planning your staffing levels
In the GEDI evaluative research project there were on average 145 presentations to the ED per day. Approximately 19% or 25-30 of these presentations were of people aged 70 years and over. Peak presentations times were between 10am and 4pm. GEDI nurses aimed to screen all presenting patients in this age cohort and provided targeted care for 5-10 patients each shift according to level of complexity.
The average number of patients that GEDI nurses can see per day will vary on patient complexity. Peak presentation times determine when overlap of CN shifts are best utilised. Presentations occurring late in the day who may be eligible for discharge, will often be admitted to a ward within the ED such as a Short Stay Unit (SSU) overnight requiring further assessment and decision making by GEDI early the following morning. View Example job description for GEDI CN .
Refer to the Queensland Clinical Service Capability Framework for Geriatric services for differences between facility levels. View Formula for determining GEDI staffing to assist in determining the staffing you require for a GEDI service in your organisation. See advantages and disadvantages for staffing GEDI from within the ED.
Planning for leave
Forward planning for leave (planned and unplanned) of staff in GEDI positions is important. Utilising the ED nursing staff pool provides an opportunity for interested ED nurses to experience the GEDI role. Such acting positions allow nurses to become familiar with GEDI process and decision making pathways and encourages them to develop their geriatric nursing skills. This education and experience supports dissemination of the GEDI ethos amongst the general ED nursing staff and strengthens GEDI service succession planning.
