Overview of Problem
Timely triage can be the difference between life and death
Problem Statement
To reduce average triage to 30 minutes by the end of 2026 for CTAS level 3 patients presenting with chest pain at Grey Nuns Community Hospital Emergency Department.
Overview
Emergency departments across Canada face increasing pressure due to rising patient volumes, an aging population, staffing shortages, and limited system capacity, all of which contribute to overcrowding and prolonged wait times.
In a recent case at Grey Nuns Community Hospital, a patient presenting with chest pain waited more than eight hours before receiving care, ultimately resulting in a fatal outcome. This incident highlights critical gaps in triage processes and patient flow, particularly for CTAS Level 3 patients who require urgent but not immediate care. Addressing these inefficiencies is essential to improving response times, patient safety, and overall healthcare system performance.
Problem
Delays in triage for CTAS Level 3 patients presenting with chest pain at Grey Nuns Community Hospital pose significant risks to patient safety and quality of care. These patients require urgent assessment, yet prolonged wait times can lead to delayed diagnosis and treatment, increasing the likelihood of adverse outcomes.
Current Process
Patients arriving at the emergency department are registered and assessed using the CTAS triage system to determine urgency of care. However, high patient volumes, limited real-time visibility, and reliance on manual workflows can slow down this process, leading to delays in prioritization and treatment initiation.
Root Causes
Triage delays are driven by a combination of system-level and human factors rather than a single issue. Key contributors include inefficient workflows, lack of real-time monitoring, poor data integration, and emergency department overcrowding, all of which create bottlenecks and reduce the efficiency of patient flow.
Addressing triage delays requires understanding not just the problem, but the underlying processes and root causes that drive inefficiencies.
