title: What happens at triage: a naturalistic observational study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To observe activity and delays at triage in an Emergency Department (ED) using the Manchester Triage System.
  
  
  METHODS
  Single-centre naturalistic observational design.
  
  
  RESULTS
  13% patients had observations recorded at triage. 13% of triage interactions were interrupted for an unrelated issue. The mean time to triage was 2.43 min, 0.95 min for patients arriving by ambulance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Triage times and experience might be improved by reducing external interruptions to the triage process.
authors.affiliation: Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow, Essex, UK.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Clifford-Brown
authors.forename: Kirsty
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Challen
authors.forename: Brendan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ryan
mesh_terms: D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D006801:Humans; D014218:Triage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*