Table 1 Participants characteristic
Patients characteristics | Reason for referral | Trans-portation | Relatives present? | Admitted to/sent home/transportation | Telephone interview | Semi-structured interview | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Male | 60 - 65 | Skin infection | Taxi | No, wife is at work | Stayed overnight, intravenous antibiotic/ taxi | Wife | Patient and wife |
Male | 65 - 70 | Fell on the floor , syncope | Emergency Services | No, decided that his wife should remain home | Sent home | ||
Male | 75 – 80 | Vomit, chest and stomach pains, abstinence | Emergency Services | No, did not want his son and daughter involved | Stayed overnight/ taxi | Patient | Patient and daughter, separately |
Male | 80 - 85 | Had a fall, deep cut in his forehead | Ambulance | Wife | Stayed overnight, sent to respite care/ ambulance | Wife | Wife |
Male | 70 – 75 | Severe pain in his legs, rheumatic disease | Ambulance | Wife | Stayed overnight, antibiotics, walked home with wife | Patient | Patient and wife |
Female | 65 - 70 | Fell down the stairs, checked for a ruptured spleen | Son | Son and grandchild | Sent home with son | ||
Female | 75 - 80 | Had a fall, cut on the leg | Ambulance | Partly, both daughters came after 1½ hours | Sent home/ambulance | Daughter | |
Male | 45 – 50 | Suspicion of blood clot in his leg | Patient | No, single | Sent home/patient | ||
Male | 65 - 70 | Felt unwell, pacemaker | Emergency Services | No, wife chose not to accompany the patient | Sent home/wife | Patient and wife | Wife |
Female | 75 - 80 | Fractured her wrist | Daughter | Daughter | Sent home/daughter | ||
Female | 15 – 20 | Had a fall, suspicion of concussion | Ambulance | Friend. Parents came when the patient was ready to go home | Sent home/parents | ||
Female | 45 - 50 | Suspicion of blood clot in her leg | Patient | No, her husband had returned home from night shift | Sent home/patient | Patient | |
Female | 20 – 25 | Suspicion of fractured spine | Ambulance | Mother | Sent home/mother | Mother | Patient and mother, separately |
Female | 70 – 75 | Had a fall, fractured wrist | Grandchild | Grandchild | Sent home/Grandchild | ||
Male | 30 – 35 | Suspicion of appendicitis | Mother | Mother | Sent home/mother | Patient | |
Male | 65 – 70 | Stomach pain, Cancer patient | Ambulance | Yes, wife, arrived later because of work | Admitted to cancer department | ||
Male | 60 – 65 | Had a fall, briefly unconscious | Ambulance | Partly, son-in-law, the patient sent him home after a short while | Sent home/son in law | ||
Male | 65 - 70 | Fever, cancer patient | Ambulance | Wife | Admitted to cancer department | ||
Female | 65 – 70 | Vomiting | Ambulance | No, lived alone | Admitted to dept of internal medicine | ||
Female | 85 – 90 | Atrial fibrillation | Emergency Services | Yes, partly, daughter after two hours | Sent home/daughter | Patient and daughter, separately | |
Female | 75 – 80 | Had a fall, suspected concussion | Ambulance | Friend (patient was visiting her friend) | Sent home/another friend | ||
Male | 35 – 40 | Stress | Emergency Services | Wife | Sent home, wife | ||
Female | 80 – 85 | Suspected embolus in the lung | Daughter/ambulance | Yes daughter, partly, went home after a few hours | Admitted to department for heart diseases | ||
Female | 75 – 80 | Atrial fibrillation | Husband | Yes, husband, daughter (nurse) and sons came shortly after her arrival | Admitted to department for heart diseases | Patient and daughter, separately | Daughter |
Female | 65 – 70 | Suicide attempt | Ambulance | Husband, son-in-law | Stayed the night /husband | ||
Female | 75 – 80 | Feeling unwell, suspicion of heart problems | Ambulance | No, her husband stayed home | Sent home/husband | ||
Female | 25 – 30 | Stomach ache | Patient, with train | No, fiancé was at work | Sent home/patient went home by train | ||
Male | 35 – 40 | Fainted because of violent stomach pains | Emergency Services | Yes, wife came after a relative had come to look after the children | Sent home/wife | Wife | |
Female | 55 – 60 | Fractured wrist | Neighbor | No, single | Sent home/taxi | Patient | |
Female | 75 – 80 | Fall, pain from knee | Ambulance | No, patient sent son to work | Sent home/taxi | Patient | |
Female | 90 – 95 | Severe bleeding | Ambulance | Yes, partly, daughter came later on | |||
Female | 65 – 70 | Stomach ache, terminal cancer | Ambulance | No, husband was not present | Admitted to another department | ||
Male | 90 – 95 | Felt unwell and was not able to stand on his feet | Ambulance | Yes, wife and son came later on | Admitted to the intensive department | Son | Son |
Male | 40 – 45 | Fainted and bumped his head | Ambulance | No, father at home with the patient's children | Admitted to another department | Patient | |
Male | 65 – 70 | Rupture of Achilles tendon | Wife | Wife | Sent home/wife | ||
Female | 40 – 45 | Dislocated shoulder | Patient | No, husband at work | Sent home/researcher and work colleagues | Patient | |
Female | 50 – 55 | Stomach ache | Husband | Husband | Sent home/husband | ||
Male | 85 – 90 | Heart?, pain from shoulder | Ambulance | Son | Sent home/son | ||
Female | 100 – 105 | Emergency service referred her to the ED, worried about her condition | Ambulance | Son | Sent home/ambulance | ||
Female | 75 – 80 | Wound on tibia | Daughter | Daughter had accompanied the patient, but has left to go home | Stayed the night over | ||
Male | 70 – 75 | Fractured clavicle | Ambulance | No, Relatives are not capable of taken on the role of a relative | Stayed the night over, send to respite care | ||
Female | 75 – 80 | Feeling unwell, suspicion on deterioration of existing disease | Ambulance | No, daughter is unwell | |||