The South African Triage Scale: a tool for emergency nurses

Abstract

Triage is considered as one method of enhancing the business of an operationally healthy emergency centre. Emergency nurses should all be able to identify life-threatening conditions quickly and prioritise patients to provide safe emergency care. This article describes the South African Triage Scale, a tool researched and validated in South Africa, and demonstrates the simplicity of the instrument with practical examples. Further advantages of triage are described and the concept of triage aids is also illustrated.