They were forced to redefine and restructure their system of values to be more managerial. More speed, more compartmentalisation and more technologically-mediated communication sometimes made them “feel under pressure to quicken up”, which in turn made it “very hard not to sacrifice patient care”. “People don’t speak to each other about patients much anymore. [EDIS]

takes you away from the patient. We used to…go in with the doctor to find out what was going on Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical with the patient and then the doctor would relay it to you, so you’d learn from the doctor… now it’s all just on screen and people don’t talk about patients…it’s all just conveyor belt, it feels more conveyor belt and that’s obviously what they wanted with the efficiency and the four hours and every nurse will tell you that”. (ENP 5) Discussion We did a qualitative study with the aim of understanding

Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical the transformation of clinical practice and local consequences from the introduction of a national target for waiting at an ED. We found the 4 hour wait target supported the development of a new type of spatial and temporal regulation of ED staff’s work. This was achieved by first redesigning the built environment into separate areas, according Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical to acuity categories, so as to facilitate efficient patient throughput. ED staff perceived this compartmentalisation as an improvement for security, privacy and way-finding for patients, and it reduced unnecessary movements. Moreover, they considered the target a catalyst for building

collaboration with the rest of the hospital and for speeding up clinical performance. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Irrespective of professional hierarchies, they were more likely to be heard when they requested a specialist opinion and inter-departmental efforts were made to secure beds for admissions promptly. The target has also increased the value of the Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical ENP’s role by autonomously treating patients with minor illnesses/injuries. It also necessitated the implementation of a new clinical information system. ED staff found the system’s Oxalosuccinic acid capabilities for advanced tracking, awareness of potential target breaches, and continuous, real-time management of staff particularly useful. These features were also helpful in reassuring the patients that they would be treated in time. The convenience of accessing structured information and of producing reports led to the development of new Selleck ROCK inhibitor self-regulating processes, such as the 4 hour wait target weekly meeting. However, some nurses felt that the added pressure to move patients quickly has affected their relationships with patients and colleagues. We have been able to make explicit the social and technical aspects of emergency care and highlight the complexity of their interrelations.