anna29 said:Hi All.
An old work friend of mine, always wanted to be a paramedic.
Now has completed and passed the training and exams needed to be one.
She has explained to me it is colour triaged now.
Red - orange - green .
Red is full go , ambulance and "all first aid treatment" to be used as per serious needs.
[Classed as a priority 1 and straight through to the A & E team once arrival at hospital]
Orange/Amber is again ambulance and first aid assistance as per needs after assessment.
[once reach hospital will be triaged again - especially if A & E dept is busy]
Green is patient can make own wayto hospital and will be triaged again there,
has to go through the NHS system once reach hospital.
This colour code triage of seriousness rating, will eventually make its way through the ambulance services of the UK.
A code red patient dosent have to wait . [hence the priority 1 and patient is fast tracked straight to the A & E staff upon arrival ]
A code amber/orange is given up to 3-4hrs waiting time once triaged again at hospital arrival.
A code green has to after triage again, sit things out within the NHS system after making their own way to the hospital.
We can all grumble over the varities of who - what warrants a code red/amber/green response etc...
But it does appear to be a system set up to grade the seriousness of response , treatment needed/given, waiting time allowance
after triage , are being graded as to the urgency of the patientneeds with their health and safety issues being assessed at triage.
I myself was triaged last winter and was fast tracked to a ward to be seen within 3hours , was triaged as 'amber' .
Thought the system was fair and efficient as per my own needs and experience of this.
Anna.
Sorry Anna but that isn't true.
Calls are graded either R1, R2, G1, G2, G3 or G4 by caller takers using NHS pathways or AMPDS (depending on Trust and area)
R1 - Is an immediately life threatening emergency such as a cardiac arrest
R2 - Is a life threatening emergency such as a CVA (stoke) or MI (heart attack)
Both of these should get a response within 8 minutes (75% of the time)
G1 - Serious injury or illness such as an RTA requiring a response within 20 minutes
G2 - non life threatening conditions which do need assistance, i.e. elderly falls needing a 30 minute response
G3 and G4s - Non life threatening conditions with get a call from a health care professional (HCP) within 20 minutes or an hour respectively. That HCP will then decide what help is needed, this maybe an ambulance, a GP, a district nurse, make your own way to A&E / Injury unit or self treatment.
None of these have any effect on the hospital, once the ambulance arrives they will assess the patient and refer the to the best place or treat them at home (40%ish of 999 calls do not go to A&E).
If once on scene the ambulance decide in is an immediately life threatening emergency they will ring A&E and have them on standby for their arrival, nothing to do with call grading.