title: Caring for patients in the right place at the right time.
abstract: The Department of Health (2001) has recommended that emergency departments (EDs) in England introduce patient-streaming systems to manage patient flow and reduce time to initial triage. This article describes how one London ED has introduced such a system with reference to Waterman et al's (1980) Seven S model and the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement's (2008) Plan Do Study Act cycle. It also discusses the importance of staff and stakeholder involvement in such projects and makes recommendations for the role of streaming nurses in EDs.
authors.affiliation: King's College Hospital, London. nicola.dover@nhs.net
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dover
mesh_terms: D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D013222:State Medicine; D014218:Triage / Q000592:standards*; D006113:United Kingdom