Evaluation of a new prehospital major incident triage tool
Informing current UK practice
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22025103 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Louise Davidson (0000-0002-8571-7443, UK Health Security Agency), James Vassallo (0000-0001-9783-165X, Royal Navy), Phil Cowburn (University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust), Dave Bull (College of Policing), Chris Moran (0000-0003-1872-3314, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust), Holly Carter (0000-0002-2084-7263, UK Health Security Agency, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 111 |
| Pages | 104740 |
| Publication date | 2024-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2212-4209 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.104740 |
| OpenAlex | W4401410226 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 21 |
During mass casualty incidents, the first Ambulance responders on scene face critical decisions about who receives medical treatment first. Effective clinical management of such incidents relies on triage, which prioritises patients based on injury severity, available resources, and the number of casualties. Various decision-making tools have been developed to assist emergency responders with triage decisions. However, there have been concerns raised about the efficacy of existing triage tools, which led to the development of a new pre-hospital triage tool for major incidents. The current study evaluated two versions of the new tool alongside the existing one used by UK emergency responders through a live exercise simulating two different major incidents. Participants offered valuable insights for the tools enhancement, notably in managing non-injured casualties and paediatric patients, and reducing cognitive load when making decisions. These findings shaped the final version of the new tool, deployed to UK Ambulance responders in Spring 2023. Findings demonstrate the importance of considering the visual presentation of triage tools as well as the inclusion of accurate physiological parameters to facilitate responder decision-making when categorising patients in mass casualty triage. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed
Forensic engineering · Medical emergency · Triage · Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation · Disaster Management and Resilience · Disaster Response and Management · Engineering · Medicine
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |