> If/when my mother fractures her hip I sure as hell hope she is seen by a
> doctor within half an hour on arrival at ED but so should every body
> elses
> mother.
> "Triage creep" is a pernicious trend to triage patients with regard to
> your
> ability to see them rather than the patients real need for care.
> Even worse is to set your standards for triage times with the same view
> point. Thus the UK T3 standard of being seen by a doctor within 1 hour
> is
> twice as long as the Australasian target of 30 minutes.
> The consequences are I suspect starting to be revealed - the standards
> felt
> acceptable by the "profession" do not provide a service which meets the
> demands and real needs of the patients in the 1990s.
> Every demand from patients and managers should be seen as an
> opportunity to
> argue for and secure more resources.
> JohnC
>
Er, the whole point of triage is a rationing process. I quite agree with your sentiments, but the reality of all health
care systems throughout the world is of excess demand over ability to provide. The T3 standard (and most Units'
inability to meet that, as I pointed out earlier) in the UK results from each doctor on each shift seeing 2.2 patients per
hour; your emergency departments are far more lavishly provided with medical staff than the UK ones. That is the
only reason you can set better times. I would dearly like to work in such a system as not only are the UK patients
exploited, so are the staff.
Best wishes,
Rowley Cottingham
[log in to unmask]
Before you criticise someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes.
That way, when you criticise them, you're a mile away and you have
their shoes.
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