Emergency Departments need to have the capacity to meet internationally agreed benchmarks for assessing and managing patients in accordance with their clinical need. Hospital systems should allow for the prompt movement of patients out of ED when it has been determined that admission is required. Emergency Departments should not hold patients for lengthy periods, without access to the comfort of family and provision for basic human needs for food, drink, access to the toilet, bed-covering and some degree of privacy.
Pain and distress for patients, and worry for family and friends, may lead to some level of agitation and aggression. This needs to be managed with understanding and compassion.