he A&E of SHSO's hospitals, have a triage system in place for classifying cases according to the severity of the patient's condition. Triage is carried out by highly experienced nursing staff and its main purpose is to assess the urgency of each case based on the severity of the disease or injury and the risk it poses to the patient. In this way, each case is prioritised and its urgency for treatment is determined.
According to the ESI ( Emergency Severity Index), there are 5 priority levels for examination, depending on the severity of each incident.
During Triage, Tier 1 and 2 incidents are immediately transferred to the examination area for urgent treatment.
Tier 3 and 4 incidents are informed that their condition is not considered urgent, that it is not life-threatening, and there will be some waiting time before being examined. Their registration takes place after the triage.
Tier 5 cases, being NON-emergency cases, are informed that their examination will be delayed and are encouraged to refer to their Personal Doctor. If they insist on remaining at the A&E, they are informed that they will be examined once all cases of priority are attended to and they are referred for registration.
An officer of the department registers the patient's personal information.
If the patient is unable to provide the required information, the responsibility for the latter is passed to the attendant or rescuer (paramedic).
The personal information that will be requested is:
- Full name
- Date of birth
- ID or ARC (Alien Registration Number)
- Permanent residence address / Country of origin
- Telephone number
- Details of next of kin or guardian
Following the completion of information entry on the special form SHSO 1-125, the officer creates the patient's personal medical record at the A&E for the current visit. The patient is then called to the examination room for assessment according to the assigned tier which he/she received during triage.
When the patient enters the examination room, the A&E practitioner examines the patient and then provides all the necessary Medical Instructions (administration of medication, laboratory tests, radiodiagnostics) and the nurse assigned to the patient carries out all the relevant nursing procedures. If the attending practitioner of the A&E considers that the patient requires hospitalisation, he/she will call a specialist depending on the patient’s condition/injury. If admission is not required the practitioner of the A&E will discharge the patient. If it is deemed that it would be best for the patient to be transferred to another hospital of the SHSO for treatment, the Ambulance Service will immediately arrange the transportation.