Emergency centre triage category allocations and their associated patient flow timeframes in a private healthcare group in the Middle East

Abstract Aims and Objectives To identify and describe triage category allocations and their associated patient pathway timeframes in four emergency centres of a large private healthcare group in the United Arab Emirates. Background The classification of patients in accordance with their acuity level...

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Main Author: Enrico Dippenaar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2019-10-01
Series:Nursing Open
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.336
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author Enrico Dippenaar
author_facet Enrico Dippenaar
author_sort Enrico Dippenaar
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Aims and Objectives To identify and describe triage category allocations and their associated patient pathway timeframes in four emergency centres of a large private healthcare group in the United Arab Emirates. Background The classification of patients in accordance with their acuity level is a complex task that requires quick and accurate allocation. Triage system categories have predetermined timeframes in which patients should be seen by a physician or treatment initiated for the best possible outcome. Design and Methods An observational, cross‐sectional study was conducted through the prospective capture and evaluation of medical records from patients triaged in each of the four emergency centres (two hospitals and two clinics) over a period of a month. The STROBE statement was used as a reporting framework. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the timeframes associated with the patient pathway through each EC and contrasted against their allocated triage category. Results A total of 4,432 patient records were eligible for analysis from the four emergency centres. Triage category 4 (54.7%) was allocated the most with only a single category 1 patient seen between the four emergency centres. The median time from registration to triage was <10 min and triage to physician consult was <25 min. The overall length of stay of high‐acuity cases was between 1 hr 13 min–2 hr 44 min, compared with low‐acuity cases being 32–49 min. Overall time to physician was substantially lower than the targets set by the triage systems itself.
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spelling doaj.art-d89e9f7fcf0047f394d97356ea87039a2022-12-22T01:46:07ZengWileyNursing Open2054-10582019-10-01641399140310.1002/nop2.336Emergency centre triage category allocations and their associated patient flow timeframes in a private healthcare group in the Middle EastEnrico Dippenaar0Division of Emergency Medicine University of Cape Town Cape Town South AfricaAbstract Aims and Objectives To identify and describe triage category allocations and their associated patient pathway timeframes in four emergency centres of a large private healthcare group in the United Arab Emirates. Background The classification of patients in accordance with their acuity level is a complex task that requires quick and accurate allocation. Triage system categories have predetermined timeframes in which patients should be seen by a physician or treatment initiated for the best possible outcome. Design and Methods An observational, cross‐sectional study was conducted through the prospective capture and evaluation of medical records from patients triaged in each of the four emergency centres (two hospitals and two clinics) over a period of a month. The STROBE statement was used as a reporting framework. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the timeframes associated with the patient pathway through each EC and contrasted against their allocated triage category. Results A total of 4,432 patient records were eligible for analysis from the four emergency centres. Triage category 4 (54.7%) was allocated the most with only a single category 1 patient seen between the four emergency centres. The median time from registration to triage was <10 min and triage to physician consult was <25 min. The overall length of stay of high‐acuity cases was between 1 hr 13 min–2 hr 44 min, compared with low‐acuity cases being 32–49 min. Overall time to physician was substantially lower than the targets set by the triage systems itself.https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.336emergency departmentMiddle Eastnursestimetriage
spellingShingle Enrico Dippenaar
Emergency centre triage category allocations and their associated patient flow timeframes in a private healthcare group in the Middle East
Nursing Open
emergency department
Middle East
nurses
time
triage
title Emergency centre triage category allocations and their associated patient flow timeframes in a private healthcare group in the Middle East
title_full Emergency centre triage category allocations and their associated patient flow timeframes in a private healthcare group in the Middle East
title_fullStr Emergency centre triage category allocations and their associated patient flow timeframes in a private healthcare group in the Middle East
title_full_unstemmed Emergency centre triage category allocations and their associated patient flow timeframes in a private healthcare group in the Middle East
title_short Emergency centre triage category allocations and their associated patient flow timeframes in a private healthcare group in the Middle East
title_sort emergency centre triage category allocations and their associated patient flow timeframes in a private healthcare group in the middle east
topic emergency department
Middle East
nurses
time
triage
url https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.336
work_keys_str_mv AT enricodippenaar emergencycentretriagecategoryallocationsandtheirassociatedpatientflowtimeframesinaprivatehealthcaregroupinthemiddleeast