A three-month pilot project is underway at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital to streamline patient flow through the Emergency Department.
Individuals arriving at emergency will now take a number to wait their turn to see a triage nurse.
Craig Watkin, a hospital vice-president, explains the move is in response to a significant increase in visits.
Approximately 1,300 patients are seen each week in the Emergency Department, a number that is steadily increasing.
Watkin advises how the new take-a-number system will be assessed over a three-month period.
The new system will help ensure patients meet with the triage nurse for assessment in the order in which they arrived, however there may be occasions when patient symptoms impact the order in which they are triaged or reassessed.
He explains the goal is to bring more clarity to the new patient queuing process.
Watkin stresses the triage process itself will not change.
As to triage itself, Watkin explains the rationale of the system.
This score is aligned with the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS) – a tool used nationally and internationally to prioritize patient care requirements, and to ensure the sickest and highest risk patients are seen first.
