Challenge of COVID-19 crisis managed by emergency department of a big tertiary centre in Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic wave. King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh dealt with the crisis in a proactive way with the emergency department (ED) playing a pivotal role. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We searched the international literature to review the processes adopted by healthcare institutions and also used our experience of managing a previous epidemic to devise safe processes for our ED patients. RESULTS: The interventions done by ED, led to safer patient care, avoidance of unnecessary admissions, reduced risk of cross infection and enhanced staff safety. CONCLUSIONS: Integrated ED processes helped streamline Covid-19 patients.