Subsection 4: Care of patients admitted to emergency departments

Any establishment authorised to carry out the activity referred to in 3° of article R. 6123-1 is obliged to admit to its emergency department on a permanent basis any person presenting in an emergency situation or referred to it, in particular by the emergency services.

To ensure the observation, care and monitoring of patients after they have been admitted, until they have been referred, the establishment organises diagnostic and therapeutic care as follows: 1° Within the emergency department ; 2° Within the short-stay hospital unit ; 3° Directly in one of the establishment’s care structures, in particular as part of the specific care provided for in articles R. 6123-32-1 to R. 6123-32-9 ; 4° By…

The establishment organises the referral of patients who do not require treatment by the emergency department to another care structure or to a social or medico-social structure, in accordance with protocols defined in advance by the managers of these structures. This organisation is the subject of an agreement between the establishments concerned, which specifies the procedures and conditions for referring patients, as well as the procedures for their regular medical…

The health care organisation organises the coordination of patient care between the emergency department and the other acute care or follow-up departments in the health care organisation if it has one, or, if not, in another health care organisation. To this end, establishments ensure the availability of their inpatient beds, including those in their short-term inpatient unit, by organising the management of their inpatient capacity or the discharge of patients…

When a patient is discharged from the emergency department, the establishment proposes that appropriate health and social care be organised immediately, or at a later date if the patient so wishes or if his or her condition so requires.

The establishment keeps a continuous chronological register in the emergency department, showing the identity of patients admitted, the day, time and method of their arrival, their referral or hospitalisation, and the day and time of discharge or transfer outside the emergency department. This register is computerised.

A form, the model for which is approved by the Minister for Health, is drawn up by the emergency department and sent to the director of the establishment to report any malfunction observed in the organisation of care or in the referral of patients. The establishment’s internal regulations stipulate how these sheets are to be used.

Only health establishments authorised to carry out the activity mentioned in 3° of article R. 6123-1 inform the public that they provide emergency services and display an “emergency” sign. In the case of an establishment authorised to operate an emergency facility for part of the year only, the periods of operation must be indicated. Only healthcare establishments authorised to operate a paediatric emergency facility display a “paediatric emergencies” sign.