NRSG258 Acute Care 1: Applying Australasian Triage Scale to a Case

This case study provides an analysis of the Australasian Triage Scale (ATS) and its application in an emergency department setting, specifically focusing on a patient named Matt who sustained severe injuries from a quad bike accident. The assignment begins by explaining the purpose and categories of the ATS, highlighting its role in prioritizing patients based on the urgency of their medical condition. It details the five ATS categories, ranging from immediate life-threatening conditions (ATS 1) to minor chronic situations (ATS 5), and their corresponding performance thresholds. The case study then assesses Matt's condition, categorizing him as ATS 1 due to the severity of his injuries, including a fractured tibia and fibula, potential for significant blood loss, and neurological assessment score of 15. Immediate medical intervention, including surgery, is deemed necessary to improve Matt's condition. The assignment concludes by referencing relevant research articles that discuss the reliability and validity of the ATS, as well as its potential limitations and areas for improvement in clinical practice.

Running head: ASSESSMENT QUESTION
AUSTRALASIAN TRIAGE SCALE
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

1ASSESSMENT QUESTION
Australasian Triage Scale
The Australian Triage Scale or the ATS is a clinical tool which is being used to determine
the maximum waiting time that has been implemented for medical assessments and treatment
process of a patient. The prime aim of this system is to provide the patients admitted in the
emergency departments with priorities regarding their medical condition (Australian College for
Emergency Medicine, 2018). This helps the healthcare professionals to conduct proper treatment
and patient assessment. This system was developed back in 1980’s and was developed due to the
chaos developed while an emergency case arrived at hospitals. Therefore ATS was implemented
so that the battlefield decision-making process could be easier and efforts to save most of the
lives can be taken. However, there are several misconceptions regarding Triage system in
healthcare facilities (Chamberlain et al., 2015). Hence, it should be clarified that the ATS system
was not developed to move people away of the healthcare facility or determine the importance of
emergency ward in patient condition. It just determines the priority of a patient while receiving
quality care within the healthcare facility.
Depending upon the Australasian Triage Scale, there are 5 categories of it the details of
which has been presented in the table below.
Australasian Triage Scale
Category
Treatment Acuity Performance indicator
threshold
ATS 1 Immediate 100%
ATS 2 10 minutes 80%
ATS 3 30 minutes 75%
ATS 4 60 minutes 70%

2ASSESSMENT QUESTION
ATS 5 120 minutes 70%
According to this above-mentioned table, the ATS condition 1 is the immediate and life
threatening condition in which immediate healthcare facility should be provided to the patient.
Further simultaneous assessment and treatment becomes compulsory in this condition. On
contrary, the category 5 in the ATS scale is the minor chronic situation that can be assessed and
treated within two hours of time. Therefore this is the way, the Australasian Triage system helps
to define a patient condition and according to that condition immediate or delayed action are
against in patient conditions (Australian College for Emergency Medicine, 2018). This
assessment generally takes very less time and within 10 minutes it is esteemed to deliver
accurate results regarding patient conditions. Further, during clinical urgency, this measure helps
to determine complexity, severity, staffing, workload, and the quality of care needed by patient.
There are several experiments that have been carried out by the researchers to determine the
effectiveness of this scale in determining patient condition. According to Ebrahimi et al., (2015),
in a recent study conducted to determine the validity and reliability of this scale, the scale
obtained fair to good range in determining the effectiveness of this scale. Further while using the
ATS assessment, the Glasgow Coma Scale can also be used in the process so that patient’s
response to a wide array of categories can be assessed. Hence through this process the
responsiveness of a serious patient on the different stressful situation can be clearly understood.
Therefore, the ATS level 3 and 4 seems equal if the categorical instructions are followed and
enhances confusion related to the process. Further, using ATS, level 5 patients are not also
identified carefully as minor or less critical symptoms deviate the assessment towards false
positives (Hodge et al., 2013).

3ASSESSMENT QUESTION
Matt’s category
In the given case study, Matt’s category will be category 1 of the ATS scale. While
driving the quad bike he met an accident and due to which he developed severe leg and head
injuries. The right leg x-ray determines that he has a fracture in his right proximal trivia and
fibula. As well as, upon reaching the healthcare facility, he has been transferred into emergency
department. Further, according to the case study the neurological assessment, he achieves the
score of 15 that determines he will require immediate healthcare service to improve his physical
condition (Hodge et al., 2013). In the healthcare department, the emergency team has already
started preparing the emergency department of the system for Matt as he has the high chance to
loss blood from his body due to injuries. Therefore, matt will be provided the category or the
immediate healthcare facility as paramedics and healthcare professionals of the emergency
department will be working together to improve the patient condition (Chamberlain et al., 2015).
Further, Matt is suggested to undergo surgery so that the fracture can be reduced using surgery,
hence, action should be taken immediately to improve patient condition. Hence, due to the
excessive blood loss, multiple severe trauma, and ability to recovery, matt will be designated as
the category 1 in the Australasian Triage Scale so that immediate action can be taken against the
healthcare condition of Matt.

4ASSESSMENT QUESTION
References
Australian College for Emergency Medicine. (2018). ACEM - Triage. Acem.org.au. Retrieved 9
April 2018, from https://acem.org.au/Content-Sources/Advancing-Emergency-
Medicine/Better-Outcomes-for-Patients/Triage.aspx
Chamberlain, D. J., Willis, E., Clark, R., & Brideson, G. (2015). Identification of the severe
sepsis patient at triage: a prospective analysis of the Australasian Triage Scale. Emerg
Med J, 32(9), 690-697.
Ebrahimi, M., Heydari, A., Mazlom, R., & Mirhaghi, A. (2015). The reliability of the
Australasian Triage Scale: a meta-analysis. World journal of emergency medicine, 6(2),
94.
Hodge, A., Hugman, A., Varndell, W., & Howes, K. (2013). A review of the quality assurance
processes for the Australasian Triage Scale (ATS) and implications for future
practice. Australasian Emergency Nursing Journal, 16(1), 21-29.