Sedation in the Emergency Department
Date issued: February 2025
For review: February 2027
Ref: A-566/NB/ED/Sedation in the ED v2
PDF: Sedation in the Emergency Department [pdf] 168KB
It has been decided to give you a sedative drug as part of your management in the Emergency Department. Sedation is usually given to make you feel more comfortable during a painful or unpleasant procedure.
Sedation will make you sleepy and less aware of what is happening for a short period of time. It is NOT the same as a full (general) anaesthetic and you should recover very rapidly.
We use a number of different drugs to sedate patients and your doctor will be happy to discuss their choice with you if you wish.
The doctor giving the sedative drug will ask a number of questions to make sure it is safe to proceed. We will want to know when you last had something to eat and drink and if you have had any problems with sedation or anaesthetic in the past.
The sedation will take place in our resuscitation room so that you can be closely monitored. We will record your pulse, blood pressure and oxygen levels during the procedure. We will give you some extra oxygen before, during and after the procedure. We will place a small tube into one of your veins using a needle (an intravenous line) in order that we can give you the sedative drug.
There will be a minimum of 3 members of staff present, a doctor to give the sedation, another health professional to perform the procedure and a nurse to monitor you.
Sedation is considered to be a very safe procedure but there are a few complications you should be aware of. The following is a list of common and serious complications and how frequently they occur. Some medical terms are used but are explained below.
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Low blood pressure (1.5%) we may need to give you fluids and medication to bring the blood pressure up
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Low oxygen levels (4%) and inadequate breathing (1.2%) additional oxygen is given throughout, and we can assist with your breathing if needed
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Vomiting (1.6%)
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Aspiration (0.12%) if you vomit whilst sleepy, there is a very small chance the vomit can enter the lungs which can cause serious breathing problems. Whenever possible we ensure you haven’t eaten for 6 hours before we sedate you.
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Intubation (0.16%) very rarely we may need to put a tube into your airway to take over your breathing for you
We will be happy to answer any questions you might have. If you agree to being sedated we will ask you to sign a consent form giving us permission to proceed.
