Can you imagine trying to save the life of a child in an overcrowded space that lacks enough room for an efficient flow of patients, with traumatised families sitting in a tiny space close to each other?
The triage priority system is crucial to ensure that children with the most serious illnesses and injuries are attended to with the fitting urgency and in optimal physical conditions. The triaging system involves separating children in colour-coded categories, red, orange and green respectively to ensure that those in dire need of treatment are seen to first. Red refers to an emergency case, such as a child needing to be resuscitated, while orange is semi-urgent and those classified as green will receive assistance as soon as resources allow.
Whilst the triaging system at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital’s Emergency Centre is being managed as efficiently as possible, the current triage area is in urgent need of an upgrade and expansion to combat the challenge of overcrowding and maintain the required social distancing between the increasing number of children requiring emergency care.
Moving through a triage system could mean the difference between life and death. Take a tiny 5-day-old baby girl who was rushed to the Emergency Centre with apnoeas (irregular breathing) and was difficult to rouse. Even though the triage nurses were able to move her to the resuscitation area quickly and were able to stabilise her, the crowded space did slow them down and make it difficult to get through. Urgent blood tests were done which revealed the signs of kernicterus – a form of severe jaundice which could cause brain damage and respiratory arrest if left untreated. She received the urgent treatment and has since recovered well. This sweet angel is her mom’s first child and if not for the skilled triage nursing staff and their ability to operate in a challenging environment, the outcome could have been very different. It was a good team effort between nurses and doctors, and we salute them all for what they do to save the lives of hundreds of children every day.
The Emergency Centre is not an easy place to work in, please help us give the unsung heroes in the Emergency Centre the space and equipment they need to carry out their calling in a logistically efficient, child and family-friendly area.
