Table 2.

Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of the AMU-ED strategy

Strengths	Weaknesses	Opportunities	Threats
Ability to provide emergency care within the same area and within the hospital’s walls.	AMU staff does not usually care for ED patients. Therefore, they have to be supervised/assisted by ED staff.	Avoiding the need for an external shelter facility may reduce costs and possible waste of resources.	Maximum capacity of the conjoined AMU-ED may not be sufficient during a pandemic.
Staff is familiar with AMU and ED area and its processes.	ED staff has to be distributed over 2 departments, but not in the extend required for an external facility.	Applying the AMU-ED strategy does not exclude the set up of an external shelter facility if indicated.	Unsure whether segregation of cases with pretriage screening is actually safe.
The AMU has successfully served as a temporary ED in the past.	Unstable patients cannot be treated in the AMU area.	The set up of an external shelter facility may lead to social anxiety (“the hospital is not in control anymore”), whilst the AMU-ED strategy is not visible on the outside.	Triage criteria continue to evolve.
Climate control issues are not expected.			Clinical AMU capacity (both staff and space) cannot be used for admissions.
AMU-ED can be dynamically deployed and used for future waves of this pandemic.