The waiting time at the Children's Emergency room, University College Hospital, Ibadan.

Abstract

Summary:  The waiting time of the 583 children seen at the emergency room of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, during the month of June 1988 showed a lognormal distribution. The mean waiting time was 73.9 minutes with a standard deviation of 5.4 minutes. Children brought during the night shifts had significantly longer waiting time before seeing a doctor than those brought on morning and afternoon shifts (P<0.01). The longest waiting time was recorded among children brought on Saturdays, while the lowest was recorded among those brought on Sundays and Mondays. Parental educational level had no significant relationship with the waiting time even though the shortest waiting time was recorded among children whose parents had more than secondary education. The study revealed some logistic probelms in hospital admission system which can be solved by better administrative arrangement.