Triage op de SEH: doel of middel?

A national guideline in the Netherlands dictates that all patients in an emergency department (ED) must be prioritized by an ED-nurse using a triage system. However, the added value of different triage systems remains unclear, as well as which competencies are required for staff who triage. To find out how triaging in EDs is being carried out in daily practice, we conducted a telephone survey among all 24/7 accessible EDs in the Netherlands. Questions that were posed included: Is a triage system being used, and if so, who carries out the triage?; Is triage being applied to all patients?; Is advanced triage being carried out?; What cooperation exists between the ED and the general practice center? Scientific evidence for the added value of applying systematic triage to all patients in an ED by ED-nurses is limited. Triage in the ED seems to have become a goal in itself rather than a means to an end. In our opinion, a fundamental reconsideration is therefore appropriate.

Conflict of interest and financial support: none declared.