Payesh
2009; 8: 227-234
Accepted for publication: 19 August 2007
[EPub a head of print-16 Feb. 2009]

Objective(s): To assess general hospitals of Shaheed Beheshti medical university in terms of emergency unit designing for access to its different parts.
Methods: Imam Hussein, Loghman, Shohada Tajrish, Taleghani and Shaheed Modares general teaching hospitals of SBMU which had higher visit per year were assessed for 40 criteria of access to different parts of their emergency unit by a checklist. Data have been gathered by an emergency medicine resident through interview with related personnel. Collected data compared with standards which have been used in emergency medicine.
Results: Only eleven to sixteen out of 40 criteria had been fullfilled in selected hospitals. Thirteen criteria have been missed and only five criteria were fullfilled in all the hospitals. Others missed in one or more. Some of the essential criteria like cardio respiratory resuscitation room being near the entrance, dissociation between ambulance and outpatient entrance, obvious entrance for emergency unit, easy access to laboratory and radiology from emergency unit, lack of markers for triage were missed in all and criteria for traumatic and psychological patients were missed in almost all. Easy visual access to patients through nursing station, use of elevator and waiting room in emergency unit were observed in all the hospitals.
Conclusion: It seems that access criteria are not considered correctly in designing of the study hospitals. Designing hospitals need its requirements and emergency unit location should be considered at first stages of designing.