Mulindwa Francis, Blitz Julia
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Division of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Stellenbosch University.
Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. 2016 Mar 29;8(1):e1-7. doi: 10.4102/phcfm.v8i1.1056.
International Hospital Kampala (IHK) experienced a challenge with how to standardise the triaging and sorting of patients. There was no triage tool to help to prioritise which patients to attend to first, with very sick patient often being missed.
To explore whether the introduction of the South African Triage Scale (SATS) was seen as valuable and sustainable by the IHK's outpatient department and emergency unit (OPD and EU) staff.
The study used qualitative methods to introduce SATS in the OPD and EU at IHK and to obtain the perceptions of doctors and nurses who had used it for 3-6 months on its applicability and sustainability. Specific questions about challenges faced prior to its introduction, strengths and weaknesses of the triage tool, the impact it had on staff practices, and their recommendations on the continued use of the tool were asked. In-depth interviews were conducted with 4 doctors and 12 nurses.
SATS was found to be necessary, applicable and recommended for use in the IHK setting. It improved the sorting of patients, as well as nurse-patient and nurse-doctor communication.The IHK OPD & EU staff attained new skills, with nurses becoming more involved in-patient care. It is possibly also useful in telephone triaging and planning of hospital staffing.
Adequate nurse staffing, a computer application for automated coding of patients, and regular training would encourage consistent use and sustainability of SATS. Setting up a hospital committee to review signs and symptoms would increase acceptability and sustainability. SATS is valuable in the IHK setting because it improved overall efficiency of triaging and care, with significantly more strengths than weaknesses.
坎帕拉国际医院（IHK）在如何规范患者的分诊和分类方面面临挑战。没有分诊工具来帮助确定优先处理哪些患者，重病患者常常被漏诊。
探讨引入南非分诊量表（SATS）是否被IHK门诊部和急诊科（OPD和EU）的工作人员视为有价值且可持续。
该研究采用定性方法在IHK的OPD和EU引入SATS，并获取使用该量表3至6个月的医生和护士对其适用性和可持续性的看法。询问了有关引入前面临的挑战、分诊工具的优缺点、对工作人员实践的影响以及他们对继续使用该工具的建议等具体问题。对4名医生和12名护士进行了深入访谈。
发现SATS在IHK环境中是必要的、适用的且值得推荐使用。它改善了患者的分类，以及护士与患者和护士与医生之间的沟通。IHK的OPD和EU工作人员获得了新技能，护士更多地参与到患者护理中。它在电话分诊和医院人员配置规划中可能也有用。
充足的护士人员配备、用于患者自动编码的计算机应用程序以及定期培训将鼓励SATS的持续使用和可持续性。成立一个医院委员会来审查体征和症状将提高可接受性和可持续性。SATS在IHK环境中有价值，因为它提高了分诊和护理的整体效率，优点明显多于缺点。
