(adapted from a letter from the Scottish Ambulance Service. URLs and formatting added by LCCC’s web-weaver)

Background

Triage is the system the medical profession uses to asses a patient’s condition – generally this enables us to determine how sick a patient is, how quickly they need help and the most appropriate response for their condition.

Our staff work 24/7, 365 days a year caring for patients and in every minute of every day, our ambulance control centre staff receive multiple calls from people needing our help – one minute they could be receiving a call about someone having a cardiac arrest, another about two drivers involved in a road traffic accident, suffering major trauma. Calls might come about someone in a mental health crisis, a footballer with a broken leg or a person who has fallen in a bar.

In these situations, triage enables our medical professionals to ensure we get our quickest response to critically ill patients whose lives are in danger and the right response to less ill patients who need our help but may not require immediate help. This allows us to maximise the resources we have and treat patients in the most efficient way possible to save lives. Continue reading →