Triaging the triage: reducing waiting time to triage in the emergency department at a tertiary care hospital in New Delhi, India.
Emerg Med J
; 36(9): 558-563, 2019 Sep.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31366625
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Prolonged wait times prior to triage outside the emergency department (ED) were a major problem at our institution, compromising patient safety. Patients often waited for hours outside the ED in hot weather leading to exhaustion and clinical deterioration. The aim was to decrease the median waiting time to triage from 50 min outside ED for patients to <30 min over a 4-month period.METHODS:
A quality improvement (QI) team was formed. Data on waiting time to triage were collected between 12 pm and 1 pm. Data were collected by hospital attendants and recorded manually. T1 was noted as a time of arrival outside the ED, and T2 was noted as the time of first medical contact. The QI team used plan-do-study-act cycles to test solutions. Change ideas to address these gaps were tested during May and June 2018. Change ideas were focused on improving the knowledge and skills of staff posted in triage and reducing turnover of triage staff. Data were analysed using run chart rules.RESULTS:
Within 6 weeks, the waiting time to triage reduced to <30 min (median, 12 min; IQR, 11 min) and this improvement was sustained for the next 8 weeks despite an increase in patient load.CONCLUSION:
The authors demonstrated that people new to QI could use improvement methods to address a specific problem. It was the commitment of the frontline staff, with the active support of senior leadership in the department that helped this effort succeed.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Bases de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Triaje
/
Servicio de Urgencia en Hospital
/
Mejoramiento de la Calidad
/
Seguridad del Paciente
/
Centros de Atención Terciaria
Tipo de estudio:
Evaluation_studies
/
Sysrev_observational_studies
Límite:
Female
/
Humans
País/Región como asunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Emerg Med J
Asunto de la revista:
MEDICINA DE EMERGENCIA
Año:
2019
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
India